Through the Eyes of a Navy Brat
by JanuaryBaby192
Summary: Leanna O'connel has just moved back to Alexandria with her father just in time to expierence the intergration. A navy brat to the core, she finds friends, family, and a love that is more than skin deep.
1. First Friend

Hey guys, welcome to the introduction to my new story. Seeing as Remember the Titans is my newest obsession, I felt the desire to start a new story, who knows it might even motivate me to work on my others. This piece will mainly revolve around the personal memoir of an oc character and what her life was like with the boys, and who knows I might even throw in some love. Well enjoy and review if you'd like, thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: This will be the big disclaimer for my entire story because I'll probably forget further in to do it again. I own absolutely nothing, as sad and depressing as that may be. Everyone involved in this wonderful story belongs to themselves or Disney, not me (again, a very depressing sentiment).

Side Note: The _italics _represent our charcter in modern day looking back at the year 1971. Regular typing is her first person narration of what happened that day or event, like she's reliving it.

_New York, New York 1989_

_1971, that was the year that everything change for us in the small town of Alexandria. Many people there will try and tell you that it was "tough, but we made it through", well . . . they would be sugar coating what it really was. I was once asked to describe that historic year in three words. That was easy. It. Was. Hell. You could barely walk down the streets without hearing snide comments or seeing angry protesters screaming how they didn't want their precious babies to be forced to mingle with those they opposed. It was a crazy time, but even though I absolutely despised most of that year; it was the one I look back on the most. It wasn't until that year that I met the people who would end up meaning the most to me; my true friends, my real family, my true love. 1971 . . . that was the year when I truly began to live._

_It all started that summer the colored boy was shot; Daddy was always on the military base, just incase something got out of hand and they had to call in the troops. He was always hesitant to let me out of the house in fear I would get caught up in something (the streets were turning out to be more dangerous than any of us could have imagined), but he kept promising it would get better after a while. We had just moved back to Alexandria, we had lived there for quite a while when I was younger but moved once my father had gotten his promotion. After Daddy heard that Alexandria had finally started to integrate he turned in his transfer request forms within the same day. Although only Mom was from Virginia, he always thought of Alexandria as home. Add that to the fact that he had always been for civil rights and our move was no surprise. We had only been back for about a month, right at the start of summer and so far the only people I knew where Daddy's marine friends and our neighbors the Lastiks. It was because of my friendship with Louie that I had the chance to meet the football team. I still remember the day I first met the Lastiks . . . _

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

"Leanna sweetheart, hurry up and get down here, we have guests!"

I was currently enjoying the silence of my room after a quick trip in to town, and let me tell you, even though school is still a few months away the protesters obviously wanted an early start. The townspeople had definitely NOT been happy about the whole integration issue and they had made their point clear quite frequently and loudly; Hell, they even started a riot in the streets. Lt. Carter, who offered to be my warden whenever I wanted to go into town at Daddy's request, had dragged me back to the truck and locked me in while he and some other marines tried to break it up. Not that I blamed him, Daddy would have been pissed if I had gotten hurt. Looking back, I really should have just stayed home and saved myself the headache; but I was under the impression that I might meet some people my own age.

After a quick look in the mirror to make sure I was presentable, I forced myself from the comfort and solitude of my room to go meet the guests Daddy mentioned; wondering if they were more of his Navy friends. I got to the landing and paused a minute behind the wall that kept me out of sight so I could have the chance to see what I was about to endure. Granted, that seemed mean, but at this point I didn't think I could handle another story from some guy I never met about how he and my Dad had fought some war in some place during some year for some cause. I'm proud of my Dad, really I am, but it scared me to think of what he had gone through.

I took a quick peek around the wall and for the first time in that month we moved there I was genuinely excited at who I was about to meet. A nice looking couple stood besides my father talking about something or other, but I was more interested in the boy. He looked about my age and in this neighborhood that was a rarity. Most of the people here were either Daddy's age or younger couples, so the only kids I ever saw were between the ages of newborn and nine or going off to collage in the fall, so the opportunity to meet someone who might go to my high school was a thrilling concept to me. I continued down the stairs and waited at the bottom until Daddy noticed me, he is usually the one who will do the introductions for me; gives me a chance to examine the people I'm meeting.

" Oh Leanna, there you are. Honey I want you to meet the Lastiks; they just moved in next door." He introduced as I moved over to his side to meet our new neighbors.

"Nice to meet you. I've know your father for a while now and he always speaks of you with such pride." Mr. Lastik smiled and offered me his hand. I smiled back politely and accepted the handshake as he continued to introduce me to the rest of his family.

" This is my wife Natalie and our son Louis. He's going in to his senior year this year" He and his wife continued to chat with my father, giving me a chance to asses our new neighbors. Mr. Lastik was a big guy with a genuine smile, the kind that made the word "jolly" pop to mind. His wife Natalie seemed to be a very sweet lady with blonde hair and some of the brightest green eyes I have ever seen. Then I turned my attention to their son, Louis. He was a big guy with the same blond hair as his mother, cut short so it barely hung around his ears. He had a friendly face and a firm handshake with very expressive eyes. Daddy always says you can tell a lot about a person from the look in their eyes and the handshake they give. He told me when I was younger that the eyes are the window to the soul, and a persons true feelings can always be seen in them; add to that a firm handshake and it shows the persons has responsibility, strength, and respect.

Louis seemed like the kind of guy I could be friends with, and as any navy brat will tell you, if you can make one friend before going into the actual school, then it's a blessing. Daddy invited them into the living room so they could continue their conversation, probably talking about the good old days in service, leaving Louis and I in the hall.

" Hi, your name's Leanna right?" He asked with a curious expression, "I'm Louis, but you can just call me Louie".

"Yeah, you can call me Annie. I don't know what they were thinking when they named me Leanna", I responded with a laugh. He seemed nice, and even if he's a year older than me, I'm not in a position to reject friends. Turns out he had been thinking along the same lines.

" So it looks like were both in the same boat being new in all, how long has your father been in the service?" He seemed to be genuinely interested.

" Pretty much all my life; we actually started out in Alexandria and started moving around a lot when I was eight. Dad says its time to start slowing down, so he thought it would be nice to come back home"

" Yeah I know the feeling, we've moved around a lot to, I think I've been to like 6 high schools in the past three years, but Dad promised we wouldn't move again"

We continued like that for about an hour, just sitting and talking and getting to know each other. We seemed to have a lot in common from our taste in music to how we viewed the issues going on. When the time came for the Lastiks to go home I had a good feeling that he and I would be friends for a while. Goodbyes were said with promises of future gatherings and then it was just my Dad and I.

" So honey, how do you like them, you and Louis seemed to hit it off" Dad asked with wink. Honestly, as much as my dad jokes around with me about boys, if I ever brought one home I think he would start to cry; after all it had been just me and him for years. Ever since Momma died, Daddy and I formed a bond that not many fathers and daughters had. Although we got along fabulously by ourselves, I could always tell that he was afraid he wasn't raising me as well as two parents would. Being a single parent was hard enough without having to worry about your child while you worked countless hours. Add that to the fears of attempting to raise a young girl into a respectable women without the aid of a mother, and it was enough pressure to make any grown man cringe.

" No worries Daddy, no boy is gonna steal me away yet, but I do think I just found a friend to help me fight through the school year", I replied with a laugh. I mean Louie is real nice and all, but I didn't think I could see myself dating him. He kind of reminded me of the big brother I always wanted.

Little did I know that the year would hold changes for me that I never thought possible, bringing me friends, and extension of my family, and surprisingly enough a love with an entirely different boy.

_Yes, I remember 1971 quite well; that was the year that I began to live . . . _

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AN: alright everyone, thanks for reading the first installment of my remember the titans fic, it's a bit dry and long but I needed to get the basis down. Stayed tuned for the next chapter when we finally meet our favorite football team and learn a little more about Leanna……Drop a review to tell me what you think

Peace out!


	2. First Impressions

AN: Hello fellow RTT lovers! Welcome to the second installment of Through the eyes of a navy brat! (I cant believe I'm actually updating this soon, but after seeing a lovely review, I was motivated to keep working) What exciting new people will Leanna meet today? Thanks for reading and drop a review if you feel like it!

Disclaimer: As previously stated, I very sadly own nothing or no one. Quite depressing, but I get total control over Leanna and her family…….read on!

_New York, New York 1989_

_It had been a week since I was first introduced to the Lastiks, and like Daddy said Louie and I hit it off right away. It was funny, we had only know each other for 7 days, yet in that time we managed to form a bond that not even a lifetime of memories could compete with. I had gained the brother I always wanted, and after a while when we would meet new people, Louie would go right ahead and introduce me as his sister. Daddy had been happy that I had made a friend so fast. He always was worried about me when it came to meeting new people. Back then I never really had a lot of friends; granted, it was hard to keep them considering we moved all the time. That first week had been one of the best times I have ever had after a move to a new town. It was that week when I learned about football. Louie had been trying and failing miserably to explain "the finer points of football" to me; he told me there was no way that I was going to live in Alexandria and next to him and not understand the game. After a few failed sessions of 'teach Annie football', I remembered that I saw a poster for football signup when me and Daddy went to get me registered for school. Louie was so excited when I had told him, that he barely had time to tell __**his**__ parents where he was going before he dragged me to my house to ask my dad if I could come with him. Daddy had been letting me go out without him or his marine buddies for those last few days as long as Louie was with me, so it wasn't a real surprise when he agreed and sent us off. That was the day when I first met the titans……_

"Come on Annie, hurry up we don't wanna be late for the fist meeting!" Louie huffed out as he grabbed my arm to hurry me along to the gym. I don't think I have seen Louie move that fast. I had to run to keep up with him as he rushed across the parking lot.

" I still don't see why I had to come, I know that footballs important to you, but it's not like I'm going out for the team", Like I would make it even IF they let girls play.

" Considering that I have failed miserably to teach you how to play, maybe a whole football team can explain it to you", he teased with a grin, looking back for a moment to shoot me a 'your not getting out of this' look. " besides this will give us a chance to meet some new people, your gonna need a safety net for when school starts." Although at this point I was seriously dreading the fact that for the next hour or so I was gonna be stuck in the bleachers while a bunch of random guys stared at the weird onlooker; I couldn't argue with the fact that I was in need of friends. Plus, it couldn't be that bad…I was very wrong.

Louie ran into the gym while I walked in quietly, trying not to gain any attention while I escaped to the bleachers. Let me tell you; first impressions are important, but nothing on earth or heaven could have prepared me for what I was going into. The second we entered the gym about twenty black guys and two older men all stopped and stared. Louie ran right ahead and got in line but I held back, trying not to act too shocked or uncomfortable. I grew up in a house where everyone should be thought of as equal, so their color didn't bother me. What did was the fact that the minute we stepped in that gym, all eyes were on us. Talk about awkward. The tension and silence in that room was just enough to make me want to bolt, but that would just turn an uncomfortable situation worse; so I did all I could to make it to the bleachers without tripping or falling or doing anything that would make me look like a bigger loser than I did right then. Thank god that the man who I guessed was coach turned his attention to Louie, effectively catching all other eyes.

"And who in the name of heaven might you be?" The man who seemed to be a coach asked Louie.

"Louie Lastik, offensive lineman. Naval family, just moved here from Bayonne. My neighbor told me about the signup so I come runnin'." At this point he felt it was necessary to put the attention back on me, effectively naming me as the neighbor.

"What's goin' on, everybody?" Louie said trying to act friendly, but in this crowd you could quite literally cut the tension with a knife and the looks that were sent our way would have been enough to scare a turtle back in its shell. The two coaches just stood there looking over Louie when the lead coach decided to bring me into the equation.

"What about you, what's your reason for being here?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts once I realized I was the one he was talking to.

"Oh, I'm Leanna O'Connell….Louie's my ride home, but if this is a private meeting I can wait outside" I replied softly as I started to stand in case he wanted me to leave. To be honest, at that point I was hoping that he would want me to. I didn't think my face could get any hotter before I burst into flames.

"No, that's alright you can stay", he replied, although a part of me felt like it forced, but not wanting to drawn more attention to myself I sat back down. At this point I was silently praying for someone, anyone to break the silence…amazing how if you pray hard enough your always answered; though not always in the way you hope.

Right as the Coaches went back to scrutinizing Louie, the gym doors quite literally burst open to revel about 20 or so white boys led into the gym by two older guys. The two groups lined up across from each other as all four of the older gentleman faced off, and let me tell you . . . they were all pissed.

The four coaches left the gym, and we could here them yelling in the hallways as they made their way to their office leaving the two groups lined up across from each other with about a ten foot space between them. Whites on one side and blacks on the other, any bystander could feel the negativity and animosity seep into the gym. Compared to when we first got here, the tension now…it was bad, almost scary. No one dared to speak a word; I secretly thought that if someone did say something, an all out race war would start. We stayed in that silence for a good fifteen minutes or so until all four coaches came back. The lead black coach; named Herman Boone as I soon found out, went through all the rules about playing on his team. Then the two white coaches who would be coaching defense were introduced. Yoast had an eery calm to him but his assistant Tyrell, he annoyed me. I don't know what it was but he just rubbed me the wrong way.

After the awkward formalities were done, coach Boone's assistant, went back through all the boys collecting names and positions. As he made his way through the black side, I managed to catch scraps of information on some of the players; most talking to softly to insure secrecy between the two sides. Three of the players who gave off their names in the beginning sounded really familiar to me, though when trying to find them in the crowd I couldn't place a familiar face. It continued like this with relative silence except for the mumbling of introductions as I waited for them to get back to Louie. Once they did, the white players glared at him like he just shot their mothers…what, did they want him to jump sides because of their stupidity? Coach Hines made his way around the gym, getting more resistance and glares from the white boys until everyone was registered. After a few more minutes of instructions from both Boone and Yoast, the boys were finally sent home with reminders of when to meet the bus for camp…I was NOT happy.

" I cant believe your gonna ditch me for two weeks to go hang out with a bunch of guys who obviously hate each other!" I complained as Louie and I went out to the parking lot.

" I'm sorry Annie, but you heard coach, if I don't go I don't play"

"Yeah, I heard coach sunshine. He seems like a real ball of fun", yes I was being petty; but Louie is quite literally the only guy I know so when he leaves then I'm back to being alone and stuck on house arrest.

"Annie it wont be that bad, besides maybe you'll meet some new people while I'm gone", he replied, receiving a look of total disbelief from me.

"Ok, so maybe you wont, but this way I can get to know the guys and if I make friends with them, then you will have a connection to get you in with the whole football team", he smiled, obviously attempting to make me feel better about my upcoming two weeks of solitude. I really shouldn't be that upset, it's not like he's leaving tomorrow; camp doesn't start for another couple of weeks. I guess me acting a bit bitchy was just a side effect of spending the last hour in a room seeping with hate.

"Call me crazy Louie, but if what I just saw is any measure of what these guys are really like, I'm not sure I want to be 'in' with the football team."

"Don't worry, everything is just a little shaky right now. Things will get better."

"That's what my Dad says, but these people have been hating each other for years. I'm not so sure it will get better." Sure, I'm a little pessimistic right now, but the human race was really getting on my nerves. People are so blinded by hate that after a while it just becomes a way of life.

" Just give it time, it will get better", Louie responded. At times like these I really don't see how he could be such an optimist.

"How do you know"

"Because I have faith", so with a smile he drove us back to the naval base; him with his hope and me with doubts that things could ever get better, especially with the people we just saw. Talk about first impressions……..

_Hard to believe how far we have all come. Believe it or not, I once couldn't stand the titans but now we're inseparable. In that one year I went from disliking the whole team to have them becoming my family . . . and falling in love with one amazing Titan. So much for first impressions . . . _

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An: so we finally meet our favorite football team, stayed tuned for our next segment where we learn a little more about our lead character, and who were those boys who's names sounded familiar?

Thanks for reading, drop a review to tell me what you think!

Peace out!


	3. Curiosity and Familiarity

AN: Welcome to chapter three! Here we get to see as a little light on our star character and our curiosity about the mystery boys resurfaces. Warning, this fic may be slightly AU due to the fact that certain people may act a little different in order to work with this fic (nothing major). Thanks for reading, drop a review and tell me if ya'll like it so far!

Disclaimer: Again, I own absolutely nothing that seems even remotely familiar….sigh

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_New York, New York 1989_

_Those last few weeks before Louie went off to camp flew by, and he had become more determined than ever to teach me football; always said it was his personal goal before camp. At that point I had finally managed to understand what his job was on the field, though I didn't really see why any of that was helping. I still think he was just trying to make me understand so if his 'make friends' technique didn't end up working, I would have been able to tolerate football; although I didn't see why, but it had been a big deal to Lou. He had been so excited about camp, before he left he always said he had a good feeling that what would happen there would change the whole team to make them . . . well, into a team; after a while, even I got hopeful that camp would work. _

_It had been the night before camp started and our families were having one last fling to send him off to what he now calls the hardest two weeks of his life. Louie and I were sitting on the back porch talking that night. I don't know why but we had been in the sharing mood that night. I don't think I ever told someone that much about my personal life in one sitting, but I guess in view of the events we needed someone we could trust . . . especially with that particular school year . . . _

" So, you've really been to six high schools?" I asked. Six high schools sounded like hell to me, I couldn't stand being the new kid twice a year.

"Yea, it really isn't as bad as it sounds….." he laughed. We had been talking about our lives all night. I don't know what got into us, but sharing all of this stuff with someone…it was nice. After moving to a new place it's always hard to find someone to trust with your life story, but I guess that in a town were nobody trusted anybody we wanted someone to help bare the burdens.

We lapsed into silence for a while, just thinking about everything that was going on. In these last few hours I had learned more about him than in the past month we had been friends. It was nice to know so much about someone; it showed that they trusted you and in return you could depend on them.

We laid our lives out that night, he told me about his dad's work with the civil rights movements and how he had been moving from state to state since he was ten. In return I told him about my Dad's tours of duty and about what Alexandria was like when we first lived here; honestly, not that different.

"Hey Annie….can I ask you a question?"

"Isn't that what we've been doing all night?" I laughed. It was weird, what had been comfortable suddenly turned to awkward. He seemed to be struggling to find the words, hesitant like he didn't want to ask.

"Lou, just go ahead and ask, you wont hurt my feelings", I said trying to get him to talk.

"Well I was just wondering, and don't feel like you have to answer but…what happened to your mom?" His eyes were searching my face trying to see any signs of anger or warning for a mental breakdown. Honestly, I wasn't expecting that question. I wasn't sure I knew what to say. I trusted Louie and its not that I didn't want him to know, but I had just never really talked about it with anyone but daddy before…

"Oh well, umm . . . ", I said trying to control my voice and find the words.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I was just curious", he rushed.

"Oh no its ok, I just never really talked about it with anyone before", he seemed to relax, but I still needed to find the right words without sounding too blunt. "Well, she died, quite a while back actually. When I was eleven…..she was shot." I told him searching his face for any emotion. It was strange to actually vocalize that sentence.

"I'm so sorry Annie, I shouldn't have asked", Louie said. The comfort I once felt vanished, leaving me struggling to try and find an explanation. 'It wasn't his fault' or 'you didn't know' didn't really seem to fit here, those were things you say when trying to comfort someone who upset you but, I wasn't upset. If anything, talking about my mom was always sort of . . . calming or peaceful. He told me when she first died that the pain would never fully go away, but over time it would dull and I would be able to find peace again.

"No its ok, I don't mind talking about her…it actually helps" I replied with a smile after seeing him relax. " We had just moved to Arizona and she was coming to pick me up from school. She was over an hour late when I finally decided to call Daddy to come get me." I paused and shot a quick glance over at Louie before continuing. "When we got home there were police waiting at our front door, telling us that there had been a shooting and we had to get to the hospital right away. By the time we got there, it was too late. The police couldn't tell us if she had been hit by a stray bullet or if they were aiming for her, but when we saw the men they arrested we knew she had been the target. That was the first time I ever experienced a hate crime." I finished looking over at Louie.

"I'm so sorry, I can't imagine having to go through that."

"It's ok. At first I didn't really understand what had happened, and when I finally did I was really angry. After a while though it all numbed and I was able to think about her again without any of those feelings."

" What was she like?" He asked with a returning curiosity.

"She was absolutely amazing. Mom was the one who encouraged dad to take the promotion the Navy had offered him", I said with a smile. "She was one of the most open minded people I knew… she always told me that if I didn't like the way society was acting then I should join the Navy because they have their own society with their own rules" I laughed. It was memories like those that kept it from hurting whenever I thought of her.

"She sure sounds like a smart lady", Louie said as he laughed along with me.

"Oh she was, she was beautiful too…..you wanna see a picture?" He nodded so I went back inside to find my favorite picture of the three of us. I found it on daddy's desk and went back outside and handed it to Louie.

"Wow, you three look really happy . . . I never knew that she was, well . . ." He was trying to find words that wouldn't upset me. It was actually kind of amusing, but I figured it was time to throw the boy a life jacket.

"That she was black?" He looked up trying to see if I was angry. " It's ok, not many people know . . . most just think that I have a really good tan" I laughed. The race card was one that made a lot of people jumpy around here. I remembered something that Momma used to say about race 'It brings out the ugly in some people and the stupid in others'. After our little heart to heart session, the comfort level drastically improved and we were back to talking about everything and anything.

We sat there for another hour talking about everything to the new temptation song he heard on the radio to the reaction of the boys on the football team. While that wasn't my favorite topic, it did bring up some questions; like why did those names sound so familiar? That question had crossed my mind a lot for about a week now, I don't know why it kept popping up; mostly because I don't even remember the names. Maybe they lived around the naval base? Maybe Louie would know . . .

"Hey Louie, at the football signup, did any of the guys seem familiar to you?" I asked.

" Well now that I think about it, that one guy . . . uh GERRY! Yeah Gerry Bertier sounded familiar. I think him and his buddies were at the school when I went to get registered. I believe he used to be the captain at T.C …why, football captain catch your eye already?" he teased. Even if I was interested in one of the football players, it would NOT be Gerry Bertier. At the signups he was the leader of the idiots; granted it's not totally his fault because he was raised that way, but I couldn't fall for someone that set against integration.

"Haha No. Besides, even if he wasn't an arrogant jerk; I don't really think I'm his type" I laughed, besides I saw him too; quite close to a girl who I safely assumed was his girlfriend. Let me tell you, if that's any clue to what footballers girlfriends are like then I definitely don't fit the profile. I'm not a cheerleader; I in no way have the coordination or balance to do so.

"What are you talking about? Once the guys stop being arrogant jerks, I'm gonna have to work double time to make sure none of them get too friendly" he said with a wink. That's why I love Louie, he's willing to play big brother for me. Although he didn't really have a choice with me continuosly pestering him.

"Yeah well never fear, I don't think I'll be falling that easily. The whole 'new girl in town falling for the football star' scenario is a tad bit too cliché for me . . . besides, I wasn't talking about Bertier. No one else seemed familiar?" I asked, attempting to get back on track. Whoever these people were, they had already started to bug me and I don't even know if I met them yet!

"No…no one's coming to memory, sorry…why?"

" A couple of the guys names sounded familiar is all, but I cant place a face or remember the names…just the feeling", I replied. Oh well, it'll come to me eventually…maybe after Louie makes 'friends' with these people.

As the night dwindled down, the Lastiks went home so they could get up early enough to see Louie off. Louie had asked if I was gonna come with them in the morning to see him off. I wasn't so sure I wanted to, but after the last encounter with the so called team who could blame me . . . plus 7 was really early and I like to sleep.

" Why don't you come with us Annie? We would love for you to be there and we can take you if your father has to be at the base in the morning", Mrs. Lastik told me. I was right on my first judgment, she was one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met; and she made really good cookies.

"If you want to go it's fine with me. Just make sure that you come home afterwards and don't forget your key." Daddy told me with a smile. I was wondering how long it would take for him to start insisting I stay home after Louie left, leaving me with no one to chaperone on my visits to town. With our final goodbyes and arrangements for when to be ready in the morning, the Lastiks left leaving just me and Daddy.

" Louis seems real excited about camp doesn't he?" Daddy said turning his attention back to me. Ever since Daddy found out that Louie was into football and trying to teach me the spark in his eye got brighter; he had been trying to teach me for years with no avail.

"Yeah, he said that as long as he has to be in school he might as well hit some people", I laughed. Louie could always make me laugh, although he doubted himself way to much.

"I think more than anything he's excited about what's gonna happen with the team…he

thinks the new coach is what this town needs to bring the boys together", I had to admire his optimism. Coach Boone did seem like a guy who would run a tough camp so maybe he did have what it takes.

"Well, god knows it wont be an easy task…he's gonna meet a lot of resistance from a lot of arrogant people." Daddy replied with a sad smile. It really was depressing. Sure he didn't seem like the most happy-go-lucky guy around, but I don't think anybody would want his job at this point. He has to turn a group of hot headed teenagers into a team in just two weeks with the entire town and school board breathing down his neck. Let's just hope he has as much faith in himself as Louie does . . .

_I remember staying up that entire night thinking about coach Boone and the team as well as trying to figure out why those boys seemed familiar . . . was I ever shocked when I finally figured it out. At that point I still had my doubts about the town, but the boys on the football team were thought of as gods around there, and if they managed to get together then the town would surly follow. Who knew that after two weeks the boys would end up forming friendships that have lasted almost twenty years. . . _

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AN: Stay tuned for our next chapter when we send our favorite boys off to camp, as well as getting more clues about our mystery familiarities. Drop a review and tell me what you think!

Peace out ya'll!


	4. Old faces and Realizations

AN: Hi Everyone and welcome to the most exciting chapter yet! Drama ensues as the faces from the past are found and one of our mystery familiarities are discovered by Leanna. Read and Review to tell me if you had guessed who they were and turned out to be right!

Disclaimer: The saddest part of the story….I own nothing…..sigh

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_New York, New York 1989_

_The day we sent Louis off to camp was the one day I will truly never forget. It started out early with me really tired, and ended with me in tears as people who I thought I would never see again reentered my life . . . talk about a busy day. I remember waking up that morning with a strong feeling that something important would happen, not just to the boys but to me as well; boy was I right. The Lastiks picked me up that morning since daddy had to be on base; of all the days for him to work, today was probably the worst. We had arrived at the school bright and early to see our newest titan off. It was a normal enough day, as a matter of fact nothing really happened until all the boys were loading the bus only after Boone made all of them get off; I still find that funny. It was when the parents were starting to leave and the last of the boys were getting on when I received the biggest shock since we had moved back to Alexandria . . ._

"Alright guys, I gotta go but I promise to call." Louie said as he grabbed his bag to leave, giving one last hug to his mother and a handshake to his dad.

"That better include me too! I need you to be my informant incase anything interesting happens; god knows nothing good goes on here." I informed him as he rounded to give me another quick hug.

"Don't worry I'll make sure to keep you up to date", he said with a laugh. So with one more goodbye we sent Louie off to where the coach was having the players load the bus.

The Lastiks and I stood there; seeing as how no one else was leaving, to wait until the buses left. It was pretty crazy here, and I thought protesters were bad but this turned out to be much worse. You could clearly see that although the state began to integrate the people still chose to segregate themselves. The tension felt was enough to make a grown man cringe, two sides completely separate. All of the black families stood on one side and all the white families on the other, most of them just staring each other down…just like in the gym at football signups; apparently this is where they learned it.

I looked around trying to find the players in the crowd. They were all scattered, saying goodbye to families and even some of them had their girlfriends there; which I thought was completely stupid. It's only two weeks…I'm sure you can cool your hormones enough and manage to survive without them for fourteen days. The players were all boarding the buses, whites on one and blacks on the other . . . stupid people. I wondered if they really thought they were going to stay that way.

My attention was drawn back to the two black coaches and it looked like Boone was gonna have some company when I saw Bertier and one of his buddies going up to him…this had disaster written all over it. I stood there watching as Bertier and his friend walked up to coach and started having what looked like a pretty intense conversation. I was too far away to hear the whole thing, but god I would have loved to because the next thing Boone did was funny as hell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I got an announcement to make. We got Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin going to camp with us here this year. Jerry tells the jokes, Dean sings the songs and gets the girl. Let's give them a round of applause." Boone said clapping as he wiped that smug look right off of Gerry's face. The crowds reaction, complete silence. My reaction however was a tad bit different. It literally took every fiber of my being to not bust out laughing and I had to bit my lip in order to hid the grin that was trying to work its way to the surface. Now, did I think that public humiliation should be that bad; no…but they without a doubt had it coming to them. They went back into their private conversation mode before the two boys huffed off to jump on the bus, although they didn't stay there too long. and that's where everything started to get real interesting.

Any doubt I had about the ability of Coach Boone to control these boys vanished after I heard his plan for camp. He teamed up each player with one of a different race and sent them to a bus depending on whether they played for offense or defense; apparently the people who he paired you up with would end up being your roommate too. A lot of the parents did not look happy about this, but the players looked absolutely furious. I on the other hand thought that this was a brilliant plan; force them together whether they like it or not…it just might work.

Everyone was loading up the buses and a lot of the parents had begun to leave when one of the players in particular caught my eye. He was getting on the bus after Bertier; not looking very happy about being paired with him, and for some reason he looked really familiar and not just from football signup. He turned around to give a quick wave to someone in the crowd but when he was moving to get back on the bus he seemed to falter when he caught my eye. I tried to remember where I had seen him before…the face looked so familiar. I had heard him talking to some of his friends before everyone got here and at that point I was pretty sure he was one of the mystery voices I heard in the gym; I wish I could remember his name. He turned to get on the bus only after shooting another questioning look towards my direction. Not that I blame him, after all I was staring. I made a mental note to ask Louie what his name was when he called me and turned around to catch up to the Lastiks, but what I saw almost made my heart stop.

In the midst of parents trying to get to the parking lot I caught a glimpse of a women who could have only be one person. My breath caught in my throat as I searched the crowd trying to find where the woman had gone to. She had flawless mocha skin, long dark hair pulled up in a bun, and the piercing green eyes…the same as my mother. The only other person I had seen with those same attributes was her sister, my Aunt Hazel. My aunt, uncle, and cousin all lived in Alexandria at the same time we did and once we started moving we tried to keep in contact the best we could. My mom and her sister had always been close, and Daddy and Uncle Charles got along really well so it wasn't a big surprise that me and my cousin were practically raised together. He was six months older than I was so he always treated me more like a baby sister than the annoying cousin that I was. I would always follow him around and wanted to play with him and his friends; but he would always let me and stood up for me. I was devastated when we moved. I had lost the big brother I always wanted; that's why I got so attached to Louie, I missed that connection that I used to have. The last time I ever saw them was at Mommas' funeral and that was nearly six years ago. After that we began to move more often so other than the traditional Christmas card or occasional letter we never heard from them. The last letter we got was from four months ago and they said they were moving and we haven't heard from them since. Daddy was hoping that they would send another letter to let us know where they were but we left the naval base in New York before it came. I thought that was the last time I would ever hear from them again.

Now standing in that parking lot, I swear I saw the woman who was so much like a second mother to me. It was only a quick glimpse but that was enough, I was sure she was here.

"Annie honey are you alright?" Mrs. Lastik was looking at me with concern written all over her face (of course I had just been staring at an empty space for three minutes).

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok…I'm just not feeling to well all of a sudden." I replied. Mrs. Lastik sent a sympathetic smile towards me and ushered me to the car. When we got back to the naval base the first thing I wanted to do was talk to daddy, but when I called Lt. Carter told me he was in a meeting that would probably last a few hours. I really needed someone to talk to, so I went to the next best person. I grabbed my key and made my way across the lawn, trying to figure out how to start or explain what I was doing over there. As luck would have it, the gods decided to throw me a bone that day and Mrs. Lastik was already on the porch and invited me to sit with her so I wouldn't have to go through my awkward explanation of why I was already invading their house even when Louie wasn't there.

"So dear what's on your mind, back at the school you looked as though you had seen a ghost" Mrs. Lastik asked with a knowing smile, it's one of the things I miss about having a mother, how they always know something's wrong with you. So I sat there and bared my soul to her, telling everything from what my family was like when I was little, to moving around the country, to seeing momma's family at her funeral, the letters, and then seeing the woman who I swear was Auntie Hazel at the school. We sat there in silence for a minute after I had finished my story, trying to figure out what the next step was.

"Well dear, if you want my opinion I think it would do you and your daddy a lot of good to try and find them, after all you're a family and I'm sure they would like a chance to see their niece." I sat there contemplating what she said. I really did miss them all like crazy, but after momma died it seemed as though we lost the connection we once had.

"Well what if they don't wanna see me, I can't just randomly show up on their doorstep" I said looking over at her. "If you think about, my mom was the connection between our two families, what if now that she's gone they don't want anything to do with us anymore?" It was times like this that I really missed my mom, she always knew what to do.

"Annie, sweetheart think about it. They lost your mother too, but you are one last piece of her that they can hold on to, plus I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't want to see you".

Sitting there on that porch with Mrs. Lastik all of these old feelings that I thought I had buried long ago began coming up again and it took all I had to fight back the tears threatening to spill. I honestly can't remember the last time I had cried over my mother. When I was little I would always cry, especially on the anniversary of her death but as the years passed it all numbed and I couldn't really cry anymore. Now sitting here on that porch, me an almost 17 year old girl was turned back into the little eleven year old I was when I first heard that mom wasn't coming home. I felt the first tears start to spill and I tried to wipe them away before anyone could see but it was too late and before I knew it Mrs. Lastik had me wrapped in a hug…….mothers intuition I guess. That was another thing I missed about my mom; no matter what, if I came home with tears she would drop everything and just sit there with me and let me cry until I was done then me and her would rant about how boys suck or how teenage girls can be so bitchy with bowls of strawberry ice cream. It was times like this when the pain would be worse, when I knew that she wouldn't be there to make my bad days better. Daddy had always been there and had done the best that he could, but nothing could take a mothers place.

I left the Lastiks about an hour later to go on home and wait for Daddy. At this point I figured that I would never really know what the right thing to do would be, so I might as well do what I felt I needed to do. The first thing I did when I got home was look through that old shoebox in Daddy's office where he kept everything that was important to him. I sat there for a good three or so hours looking over everything; notes from Mom to Dad back when they were dating, letters sent home when Dad was away on a tour of duty, as well as the old Christmas cards and mail we had gotten from Auntie Hazel. Daddy finally got home that night around five so me and him sat and talked about everything that had gone on that day; just the explanation took at least an hour.

"I really do want to see them daddy, I really miss them"

" I know you do, to be honest I miss them too….your mother would have beaten me with a tree branch by now if she knew how distant we have all become", he laughed. It was true too, momma was always family oriented; she defiantly would not have stood for us not talking for months, let alone not seeing each other in six years.

" It never occurred to me that when they said they were moving they meant closer to the new school, not out of state…tomorrow I'll look up the their old address and see if I can find where they are now", he replied. I really don't think I have ever felt that excited in years, I was finally gonna see my cousin again! We stayed there talking for a few more minutes before the phone rang so I jumped up to get it hoping it was Louie.

"Louie that had better be you, because I have had the weirdest day and have the biggest story to tell you" I rushed out. I seriously hoped it was him because otherwise I probably just scared the hell out of one of daddy's marine buddies. When I recognized the laugh on the other end I was pretty sure it was him.

"_**well hello to you to, but if you think you could do a recap there's still a couple guys who have to use the phone" **_

I dived right into the story trying to talk as fast as I could but still managing to get out all the important details ending with how I completely broke down in front of his mother. I also remembered that I still had to ask him about the mystery guy and that would probably take a minute. I finished my entire story in record time and waited to hear his response.

"_**It's starting to scare me that I can actually understand you when you talk that fast" **_Not the response I was expected.

"Louie come on this is serious" I whined. I have been doing that a lot lately, I don't see how he deals with it, even I'm getting annoyed.

"_**alright, alright I'm sorry…to be honest I'm not too sure what to say…I leave you there for less than ten hours and you already have gotten yourself into a soap opera"**_

"Haha, very funny…before you go I have a quick question. Do you know the guy who was getting on the bus after Bertier; I think there rooming together…what's his name?"

"_**Julius….yeah him and Bertier have not been getting along very well, they already had a fight…why?"**_ If my hand didn't have a death grip on the counter, I swear I would have fallen over. The fight didn't really surprise me, I figured that would happen…the name however. I had only known one boy in Alexandria with the name Julius; granted it could be a coincidence I had to be sure.

"Uhhhh Louie..w-whats his last name?"

"_**Campbell, Julius Campbell…….why do you know him?"**_ I swear I almost dropped the phone. Thinking back it all fit, why he had seemed familiar, why I saw Aunt Hazel at the school, I just can't believe after all this time he was there the whole time.

"uhhh you could defiantly say that…He's my cousin…"

_Who knew that after six years of not seeing my family we would all end up in the same place and not know it. Turns out football did a lot more for me than I gave it credit for…_

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AN: Betcha ya'll weren't expecting that twist! Coming up next we see more of our favorite boys and life at camp as well as a reunion that will shed more light on our remaining mystery characters….possibly dragging up old flames or new possibilities.

Alright ya'll thanks for reading…this is my longest chapter yet so I would like to know what you think of the story so far (hint hint REVIEW PLEASE hint hint). Plus let me know if you have any guesses on who the mystery boys and old flames are.

Peace out ya'll


	5. Reunions and Changes

AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter! The mystery boys are finally revealed when Leanna gets her reunion. Meanwhile, the boys at camp bond as friendships are formed; leaving a certain titan more eager to get home. Drop a review and tell me what you think.

Warning: cursing in this chapter but to be fair, it is rated Teen

Disclaimer: Again, I own absolutely nothing and probably never will…..sigh

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_New York, New York 1989_

_That night I could only talk to Louie for another couple minutes before he had to go; I think he was even more shocked than I was. We had hung up only after I made him swear not to tell anything to Julius. I remember thinking two things going to bed that night. One, that after six years I was going to see my family again; Two, that it would end up making a very interesting year. Over the following days, Daddy had been trying to find the Campbell's new phone number while I had been trying to get more information out of Louie. He told me all about camp and how the boys were reacting, turns out he ate lunch with Julius and a few other boys. He always told me he felt like he was lying to Julius by not telling him about me, but agreed on the fact that until everything cooled down it was for the best. I kinda felt bad at first that I had a secret informant to tell me everything about the boys when my own cousin didn't even know I was back, but until I talked to Auntie Hazel I didn't want to jump the gun. It was only a few days later when I got my wish……_

I was up in my room reading when I heard daddy come in the door yelling for me, "Hey Annie? Honey your gonna want to here this!" I went downstairs to see daddy in the kitchen with a big smile on his face holding a piece of paper.

"Hey daddy what's up"

" I think I finally found the number to the Campbell's and seeing how it's still not too late I was going to give them a call…..do you want to talk to them?" I don't think the smile on my face could have gotten any bigger. I nodded a quick yes, considering he had already dialed and was waiting for someone to pick up. I figured that if we set a plan to meet tonight with them then I could give the go ahead to Louie to talk to Julius for me.

Someone had finally picked up and once they heard that it was daddy the screech on the other end of the phone was so loud it could only be Auntie Hazel. The whole situation would have been a lot more rewarding if I could have heard both sides of the conversation, but from what I heard from daddy's end they were excited to hear from us at least. Dad talked to Auntie Hazel for a while explaining that we were back in Alexandria and how after I saw her at the school we thought we would track them down. They talked for a few more minutes until I finally got a chance to talk with her.

"Yes Hazel, Leanna's doing real good; she's sitting right here if you want to talk to her", daddy laughed as he handed the phone to me muttering something about 'same old Hazel'.

"Hey Auntie Hazel how have you been?" I asked once I had gotten the phone.

" _**Leanna honey it has been too long since we last talked, Julius and your Uncle will be kicking themselves after I tell them they missed your call" **_

I couldn't keep the smile off of my face, any awkwardness there might have been disappeared. "It's good to hear from you Auntie Hazel, I heard that Julius was in football camp"

"_**that boy loves football as much as his daddy, Charles was so excited when the new coach moved here that he took Julius down with a couple other people to introduce him……but how did you know about football camp?"**_

I told her how I went down to the school with the Lastiks and seeing the boy who looked familiar, only to find out it was Julius when Louie called me. It was amazing how easy talking to her was after all these years….it was kinda like talking to my mom. We sat there for a few more minutes until dad started bugging me about giving back the phone.

"Hey Auntie Hazel, daddy wants to talk to you again"

" _**Alright Honey, you make sure to come and see us some time this week. I can't wait to tell Julius that your back in town, he's gonna be so excited."**_

" I can't wait till he gets back from camp, I've missed you all a lot."

" _**We've been missing you too honey, me and your daddy will plan out something so we can get together soon."**_

With another goodbye I handed the phone back to daddy. I sat and listened for a few more minutes to them chat before daddy made plans for us to go see them the following night. I was so excited about seeing them again, though it wouldn't be the same without Julius. I sat downstairs a while with daddy until the phone rang, signaling that Louie had more news for me from camp.

Louie told me all about the three-a-day schedule that the new coach had them on, apparently a form of motivation for them to get to know each other. He explained how the three daily practices wouldn't stop until everyone at camp talked to all the members of the opposite race to get to know one another better. He thought it was a great idea, but a majority of the other players put it off as long as possible; mainly Bertier and Julius. Even though all of the drama at camp kept most of the players separate, Louie had managed to make a few friends. It didn't really surprise me too much, Louie was a guy that you just had to like. I had told him how I had talked to Auntie Hazel, giving him the go ahead to tell Julius. With a promise to call me tomorrow night to tell me how it went and a quick goodbye we hung up after hearing a bunch of yelling in the background to get off the phone. I went up to bed shortly after, thinking about what Julius was doing and hoping that he would eventually get along with the guys…….

_(Meanwhile at camp, Julius pov.)_

I just gotten in bed but was too wound up to sleep, so I just laid there thinking of these last couple of days. This wasn't anything like I was expecting, it wasn't what anyone was expecting. I had gotten stuck rooming with the almighty captain and ever since Boone assigned us the job of meeting all the teammates we had been avoiding one another like the plague. Of all the guys to be stuck with I had to get Bertier. To make matters worse, these damned three-a-days Boone had us on was killing us. This camp was supposed to help us with football but all we had been doing was fighting each other. No matter how much the coach made us practice we still sucked. The only good thing to come out of this was the call I had just gotten from Ma, which had managed to piss me off all the same. My baby cousin had finally come home and when I should be there with her I was stuck here. I hadn't seen Annie since Aunt Grace's funeral six years ago, and while we tried to keep in touch it hadn't worked as well as we hoped. The girl was more like a sister to me than anything, hell I taught her how to swim _and_ fight. I was missing her like crazy and being here defiantly wasn't helping.

By the time the "captain" got to the room I had managed to relax enough to pretend I was asleep, I was _not_ in the mood to do any stupid interview tonight. Besides, it'll be a cold day in hell when he'll actually know me, I don't know what Boone thinks is gonna happen from this…..

The next day's practice was the worst we have since we got there. We ran the exact same play and still ain't got it right. No one played worth a damn, especially Bertier's white buddies. They hadn't blocked for Rev or anyone all week, everyone looked out for themselves; so why shouldn't I. Bertier had cornered me before I had got to the locker rooms, apparently we were the last ones that had to talk.

" All right, man, listen. I'm Gerry, you're Julius. Let's get some particulars and just get this over with, all right?" The boy was seriously getting on my last nerve.

"No matter what I tell you, you ain't never gonna know nothing about me and what I got to say, you really don't want to hear 'cause honesty ain't too high on your people's priority list." and from there it just got worse. He was standing there tryin' to pin it on me, that I should bust my back for his ass when nobody plays. He's the damned captain and when I see him doing his job, then I'll do mine.

By the time dinner had come around I calmed myself down and went to go sit at my usual table. It wasn't too long before Petey, Blue, Rev, and Louie made there way over. Petey and Blue started talking about something or other with Rev while Lou looked a little anxious. Lastik was a confusing guy, I really didn't see why he wanted to eat with us and have most of the white boys hate him; he wasn't that bad but I just didn't get him.

"Hey Julius, you know that one girl I was telling you about?" he asked. I knew the girl, he talked about her a lot the first couple of days…his neighbor or something. Petey kept on messin' with him, asking if it was his girl but the boy kept on denying it.

"Yeah, what about her?" I swear if the boy asks me about dating advice I might loose it. Lastik was a decent guy and all but after the day I had I really didn't give a hoot about his girl problems.

"Well I was talking to her last night and I think you might know her, she mentioned you anyway"

"Uh-hu ok, what was her name then?" I seriously doubted I knew her. In this town, white and black have never mixed so I doubt there's a significant white girl to drag up from my past.

"Leanna O'Connell"

My head shot up as I dropped my fork, I was not expecting that. I shot a quick look to Petey and Rev to see if they had caught it and they looked as shocked as I was, after all the four of us grew up together. For the first time since we got here I was truly speechless. Hard to believe that this white boy was the key to finding my cousin again.

Petey was the first one to break the silence, "Leanna's your neighbor? As in Julius's cousin with the scary marine dad Leanna?". I didn't know if Lastik new that we were family but from the look on his face I would say he did.

"Yeah, apparently she saw your mom at the school when we left and put the pieces together. She said she thought you looked familiar from the signup but it wasn't until we got to camp when she realized it was you" he replied turning his attention back to me.

This time it was Rev who broke the silence, "Wait, that girl who was with you at the signup and when we left…..that was Leanna?!"

I remembered the quite girl in the bleachers at football signup when Lastik came busting in being the same girl who I recognized when I was getting on the bus. All this time she had been so close, no wonder she looked a lot like Aunt Grace. Blue had started to ask about her at this point and Petey and Rev were filling him in while I just stared at Louie; it was all I could do at this point. It was one thing to hear from my mom that she was back but then to find out that she was the same girl Lastik had been going on about all week was beyond strange. The whole situation was a little too much like a soap opera for my tastes.

"Ever since she talked to your mom she's been really excited to see you….if you want to talk to her I can give you her number" Louie said snapping me out of my thoughts. Even with all of this craziness going on in here it amazed me how much Louie was willing to help. Maybe the boy wasn't so bad after all.

_Back in Alexandria, Annie's pov._

It wasn't until eleven that night that I finally got in bed, I don't think I have had that much fun in one night since Louie left. Me and Daddy had gotten back from the Campbell's about an hour ago, we had been there since about four that afternoon, after all we had six years to make up for. As soon as we got there I was bombarded by Auntie Hazel and Uncle Charles. After giving me a once over Aunt Hazel deemed that I was a spitting image of my mother, leading me in the house with Uncle Charles and daddy following close behind, talking about something or other. We sat around for hours talking about what we had been up to for the past years, but mostly about our time together in Alexandria.

We talked about everything, even momma; and how all of us kids grew up together. We were going through some old pictures and Auntie Hazel kept going on about how much I looked like mom. A lot of people told me I looked just like her. I had the same wavy brown hair, bright hazel eyes, and little nose that momma had, along with her curse of being horribly short. I was barely 5'3 and daddy had always teased me about being such a little thing, not weighing nothing, just like momma.

Me and Aunt Hazel looked through some more photos, laughing at some and smiling at the memories they brought us. We came to one picture that was taken when I was about seven, at this point daddy and Uncle Charles turned their conversation from football to see what we were doing.

"I remember that picture. You kids were so happy and nearly inseparable" said uncle Charles said looking at the picture I had. It was a picture of me and Julius with two neighborhood boys sitting against the tree in the backyard. " Remember those two boys Annie? At first we thought they hung around here so much cause Julius always had a pretty girl with him but after all these years we still cant get rid of them!" he and daddy laughed.

I smiled at the picture in my hand, yes I remembered the boys. I don't think I could have forgotten Petey and Jerry even if I had tried. Petey was always following me around and we would pretend to get married with Jerry being the preacher when we were five. I missed them a lot when we first moved, after all I grew up around them as much as I had Julius. All of our mother's were friends so we were kinda forced to get along. I was looking at those pictures when I remembered the two boys from the signup that I thought seemed familiar.

"OH MY GOSH, JERRY HARRIS AND PETEY JONES!" I yelled out. Everyone turned to look at me laughing at my outburst. I felt my face flush as I rushed to explain that I thought two boys from the football signups sounded familiar but I couldn't remember till now what they're names were. How ironic was it that just by going to the signup that I hadn't wanted to go to, I ended up finding my cousin along with two of my best friends from when I was a kid?

We sat there for a few more hours sharing some stories from back when lived there. I was nearly on the floor with tears streaming down my face due to me laughing so hard. It seemed that the more stories we told, more of them were dragged up from deeper in our past; many that would make Julius kill me if I were ever to repeat them. Auntie Hazel was telling us about the time that she walked in on Julius and Petey playing dress up with me, and I could barley breathe by the end of it. I really needed to remember that one incase I needed blackmail.

" I cant remember why they were doing it in the first place" Auntie Hazel gasped out between laughing fits. "Wasn't it because they upset you or something?" she asked turning to me. I had to take a few deep breathes before I could explain.

"Yea, Julius pushed me down and then Petey called me an annoying pest so I ran home crying and they ended up feeling bad about it. They tried to apologize but I just ignored them, so they said they would do whatever I wanted to make it up to me. I decided that in order for me to forgive them they would have to play dress up with me." I giggled at the memory of Petey trying to walk in my moms heels. Julius and Petey were five and I was four, so when mom and Aunt Hazel found us it wasn't such a big deal, but it was still good to get a laugh out of. The night wore on and before any of us knew it, it was already ten and time for us to go home.

We left the Campbell's with a lot of hugs and promises to get back together once Julius got home next week. When I got to bed I crashed with memories of our childhood and curiosity of what Julius was doing.

Over the next few days I was more excited than ever to have Louie back home, now that I would have him, Julius, Petey, and Jerry all to look forward to. Louie kept joking with me whenever he called, saying that I had drug him into one of those really bad drama novels I was so fond of. He told me how much things had changed at camp and that I would be proud of how the boys were acting toward one another. The boys had really changed from the ones I saw at signup. After they all took a run to where they fought at Gettysburg something in them changed. Apparently during the following practice, Bertier called out one of his buddies for not blocking for Jerry, or Rev as everyone calls him now. After he chewed the guy out some he actually blocked and they finally got the play right.

What really surprised me was that apparently Julius and Bertier were now friends. Not even a week ago he was telling me how they hated each other, but after they got the play right they did some weird call and response hitting each other thing and got over themselves. I will truly never understand men, they are the only creatures on earth who hit each other in order to make friends; but at least they're all getting along. They even had a new guy who signed up with them who they called sunshine. Louie told me that he had some stories to tell me about him once he finally got home and was sure that Bertier wouldn't kill him for telling.

The boys were getting along better than expected ever since Julius and Bertier had become friends. I guess that after the two leaders broke down, it would only be a matter of time before everyone else followed. He told me all about Petey and Rev too. He really seemed to get along with Rev in particular which again, didn't surprise me at all. Rev always was a great guy to talk to. On more than one occasion if Petey saw Louie was on the phone with me he would start yelling random things to me in the background; he was always such a dork.

The rest of the week past by in a blur and before I knew it, the night before the boys were coming home was here. I made plans to go down to the school with the Lastik's again and then meet up with my Aunt and Uncle down there. Granted, a school full of potentially racist parents probably wasn't the choice location for my happy reunion, but I really didn't care at that point. I fell asleep that night more content than I had been in quite a while.

_Back at Camp, Julius's pov._

These last two weeks were absolutely crazy and I was more than ready to go home. I definitely did not think that this camp would end up pulling this team together, but more than that I never thought I would make friends with these people, especially Gerry. Ever since Gettysburg this camp has changed, I've changed. Bertier and I talked a lot this last week and surprisingly enough we got close, Annie would be real proud. I had told Bertier about Annie a few days ago, I really wanted her to meet him and the team; she would get along great with a lot of the guys.

"Hey Julius…man are you with me?" I looked up to see Gerry standing in front of me. I guess he had been trying to get my attention for a few minutes.

"sorry man, what did you say?"

"I was just asking where your head was, you've been out of it all day. Guess your real excited to see Annie again huh?" I laughed as I took down my poster to get it packed away. Amazing that two weeks ago we were fighting over this but now we had him listening to the music.

"Yeah, hard to believe that its been six years since the last time I saw her. It seems kinda weird to be obsessing over it, but you'll get it when you meet her. The girl can steal your heart with just a look." I laughed to think of how many times Petey had followed her around when we were kids trying to get her to kiss him. Even during the summers, little boys would always try to get her to notice them and I would have to step up to play the big brother role. I'm sure I'm gonna have my hands full trying to keep her out of trouble once school starts. Annie was beautiful but she had a sharp tongue to match and it got her in trouble quite often. It was going to be an interesting year.

_Back in Alexandria, Annie's pov._

I woke up this morning and was ready to go before seven this morning, truly a feat in itself for me. Daddy was laughing as I rushed around trying to find my shoes before the Lastik's got here. Over these last few weeks I had been around there a lot talking to Mrs. Natalie, so they offered to take me to the school with them.

"Honey relax, your starting to make me nervous" he said, taking the coffee pot away from me. "do you really think you need caffeine this morning?"

" What are you talking about, I'm perfectly fine…" I said trying to get back my cup that he stole. Anyway, any morning that starts without coffee will turn into a very bad day and a very unhappy Leanna. Before long the Lastik's where leaving, so with a quick goodbye to daddy I bolted out the door and to their car. By the time we got to the school my Aunt and Uncle were there waiting for me. I said goodbye to the Lastiks promising to come see them before they left and ran over to were Auntie Hazel was standing, ignoring the whispers and stares I was receiving as I hugged my aunt and uncle.

"How have you been Honey? Excited about the boys coming home?" Auntie Hazel asked. I nodded yes as she started ushering me over to the women she was talking with before. "Annie dear I want you to say hi to some people, they were your mommas friends" she told me as I was brought over to two women with smiles on there face.

" Why Hazel you were right, she looks just like her momma. It's been so long since I last saw you, you probably don't remember me." The first woman said giving me a once over with a smile. " It's me, Jerry's momma.". She looked the same as she did ten years ago, beautiful as ever.

" Of course I remember you Mrs. Harris, its wonderful to see you again; you too Mrs. Jones." I smiled as I hugged both women who I had known so well such a long time ago.

Mrs. Jones was the next to speak " Hard to imagine that the beautiful woman standing here used to be the little girl following our boys around, isn't it Hazel?" shooting a motherly smile towards me. I could barely keep the blush off of my face, all this attention was weird for me. We stood there for a few more minutes before I was saved by the buses with singing pouring through the windows. A few of the parents were acting as vile as ever, but at that point it didn't matter to me anymore. The buses parked and the first couple of boys headed off the bus. Not really recognizing any of them I stood to the side until I saw Louie get off the bus. I ran over to give him a hug once he was clear of the crowd.

" Hey Annie, I was wondering if you were gonna come" he laughed as he caught me in a hug.

"Well of course, after all one of my favorite titans is coming home; I had to be here."

"Hey I thought I was your _only _favorite titan" he teased with a nudge.

"I've got a few more people on this team that I have to support, so your gonna have to share me now, it'll be difficult I know." I said with a smirk. In reality I'll probably follow him around still, but now he can pawn me off to someone else when he gets sick of me.

"Oh yeah, as you can tell I'm completely devastated." He said with a playful shove. I missed Louie a lot these past two weeks, I had absolutely no one to mess around with.

" Now if I'm not mistaken, there's a certain guy who has been waiting all week to see you. As a matter of fact he just got off the bus and is already looking for you." I turned around to see Julius climb off the bus and start to look around after he grabbed his bag. After giving one last hug to Louie I fought my way back through the crowd to my family where Julius was hugging his mom with his back turned to me. I stood a few feet away, Uncle Charles was the first to notice and motioned for Julius to turn around. We stood there for a few seconds just staring at each other before one of us gathered up the courage to do something, turns out I was first.

"Hey Julius……"

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AN: My first somewhat cliffhanger, this is so exciting! I have one more chapter planned out before the first day of school, but I might combine them. For any of you who have been keeping up with my story thank you so much for reading. The next chapter wont be up until I'm back from vacation so look for it next week. I might be able to get it up sooner so just keep checking back. This is my longest chapter yet so REVIEWS WOULD BE GREAT, hint hint. Seriously, drop me a review to tell me what you all think, even if its something like 'I like it, please update', I'm really not that picky. Lol anyway thank you all for reading!

Peace out Ya'll


	6. Old Friends

AN: Hey Readers! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I was thrilled to see them! Glad to know that people are reading this and that they enjoy it. As promised on my info page, since I failed to get it out by Tuesday, you all may be entitled to two chapters this week. I revised my earlier chapters so take a look and everything should make a lot more sense now and sound a little better. Anyway, on to the story! We pick up where we left off with Leanna and Julius. As an added bonus, we are introduce to another oc character!

Disclaimer: Again, I own absolutely nothing and probably never will

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_New York, New York 1989_

_I think the whole town was shocked the day the boys came home. The main hope among the parents had been for the boys not to kill each other, but no one had expected them to actually become friends. When those buses pulled into the parking lot, it was like a switch on the boys had flipped. They left in silence and literally came home singing. Louie and daddy had been right, camp was just what they needed to pull together and I was ecstatic that they were home. I had managed to catch Louie before the crowds got to thick and after a quick 'welcome home', he had pushed me back towards the buses. I was finally going to see Julius, and while the initial hello wasn't the best, it picked up pretty quick after that . . ._

(Alexandria, 1971)

"Hey Julius…" I definitely wouldn't be winning any academy awards with that introduction, but it was the best I could do. We stood there for a few more seconds until Julius broke out in a smile that consumed his whole face and started to laugh.

" After six years all I get is a 'hey Julius'? Get over here" he laughed and opened his arms for a hug. I ran the last few feet and threw my arms around him as he spun me around. A lot of people were shooting us some pretty nasty looks while others started to whisper, they probably weren't happy that Julius was touching me because I technically looked white but I didn't care; that's a battle for another day.

" Girl your still as small as ever", he laughed as he put me back down. It wasn't until now that I realized just how much Julius had grown. He stood quite a bit taller than me with my head barely coming to his chin.

"It's not my fault, it's genetic! Besides you're a football player, you're supposed to be big", not the best argument in the world but it was all I had. He laughed as he threw an arm around my shoulders, turning back to Auntie Hazel and Uncle Charles.

" Hard to believe it's been so long Huh?" I asked looking up at him.

"It's been too long. We've missed you guys; I've missed you" he replied. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it was all I was going to get; Julius was never one for mushy reunions.

We stood there for a few minutes waiting for Auntie Hazel to finish her conversation with a lady she knew and Julius went off to say goodbye to a few guys before they headed home. I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to Louie and his family before they left and I had managed to spot them near the edge of the crowd talking to another family.

"Hey Uncle Charles I'll be right back, I'm gonna say goodbye to the Lastiks real quick"

"Alright Honey, we'll meet up with you in a few minutes" he replied, turning back to his conversation with one of the dads. Once I caught up to the Lastiks, Louie dragged me over to a guy he was talking to for a quick introduction.

"Annie this is Sunshine, he's one of our quarterbacks", Louie said bringing me over to a skinny boy with blond hair almost to his shoulders.

" Sunshine huh? Nice to meet you" I replied accepting the outstretch hand he offered. He had a nice face with soft eyes but a bit too much of a baby face for my personal taste.

"My real name's Ronnie, I just moved here from California; hence the sunshine." He laughed. " So you're the famous Annie. Julius and Louie have been going on about you for a few days now, glad to finally be able to put a face to the name. Well, it looks like my dad's ready to go but it was nice meeting you, see you at school Lou" he said clapping Louie on the shoulder and heading over to a man in the parking lot.

"So you've been talking me up huh?" I asking, nudging Lou as we made our way over to his parents.

"More like warning everyone" he laughed giving his own nudge back. " So what do you think of sunshine?" I looked over at him and he was trying very hard to either not laugh or look at me.

" What? Trying to set me up?" I asked once we got back to his parents. "I'll have you know I am perfectly capable of finding someone for myself, and I told you I don't want a football player."

" I didn't mean in _that_ way! Just your general opinion." He asked with an innocent look. It was then that I remembered the story that he had to tell me about him.

"Why? Does that have anything to do with a certain incident you promised to tell me about" I asked shooting him a sly smile. He smiled and tried to find the right words, fumbling slightly.

"Yeah well he, uh. . . kind of . . . kissed Bertier". I stood there and just stared at him for a minute before I burst out laughing.

"REALLY!? Oh my that is absolutely hilarious" I managed to gasp out. God I wish I could've been there to see what happened; that was by far the best thing I've heard all week. I can just imagine big bad Bertiers face when pretty boy laid one on him. I would have paid to see that.

"Glad to know your enjoying it, Bertier on the other hand; it took a few guys to keep him from beating Sunshine into the ground." He replied as I finally managed to reign it in long enough for the people to stop staring at me. Not that I could blame them, I had been laughing so hard I had to hold on to Louie to keep myself standing.

"Wait, was he joking or being serious?" I asked Louie. Not that it really mattered, but either way it was funny as hell.

"We don't know; a couple of the guys thinks he was kidding because Gerry called him a fruitcake, but a few others have there doubts. What do you think?" Amazing how just because I'm a girl people automatically think I know these things, Hell I only met the guy for like two minutes.

"Well Lou I really don't know the guy, but I don't think so. He was probably just trying to embarrass Bertier; he had it coming to him anyway." I replied with a quick laugh.

The Lastiks had to leave shortly after, so I made my way over to where my family was still standing. After Auntie Hazel had finally finished her conversation, Julius and I were ushered out to the car while I had been attempting to look around, trying to see anyone else I might know. I spotted Mrs. Jones across the parking lot, giving a wave once she caught my eye only to stop once I saw who was with her. The boy had grown up a lot in the past few years; a miracle in itself, but there was no doubt as to who it was . . . Petey Jones. Julius looked over to where I was staring and merely smiled as he grabbed my hand to drag me the rest of the way to the car.

" I take it you know who that is" He laughed as we got in the backseat. " don't worry, you'll see them soon enough".

On the ride home, the conversation mainly revolved around the football strategy that the coach was planning on using…needless to say I didn't understand any of it. Football seemed cool and all, but its one of those sports that looses some of its charm if you don't get it. By the time we pulled up to the house I had effectively managed to tune out their discussion over veers and runs, only to be pulled back to reality by Julius's voice.

"Hey, you gonna stay for a while right Annie?" he asked while grabbing his bag out of the back.

" Well of course, you just got home. What you think I'm gonna ditch?" I laughed as he rolled his eyes and threw an arm over my shoulders, leading me to the house.

About an hour later me, Julius, and Uncle Charles were in the backyard messing around with the football; or in other words playing keep away from Julius. I had just managed to actually catch the ball and get past Uncle Charles when Ju caught me and threw me over his shoulder.

"JULIUS! You put her down before you drop her!" Auntie Hazel hollered coming out the back door.

"I wont drop her ma, she don't weigh nothing anyway!" He yelled totally ignoring me screaming for him to put me down. I really should be used to it by now, after all I practically grew up with nothing but boys. Getting thrown around like a rag doll usually comes with the territory.

" It don't matter! Now ya'll have some guests so put her down and come on in" She was walking back in the house when I noticed the woman with her out on the back porch. After he finally put me down we headed into the house to find out who was here.

" Wow Mr. Popularity, not even an hour home and you already have people waiting to see you"

"I have a pretty good feeling that they ain't here to see me" he said throwing a smile my way. We made our way into the house, racing each other to the living room and skidding to a halt once I finally saw the people who had been waiting. I stood there, rooted to the spot as memories of when we were kids came back to me. It had been a long time but they haven't changed at all. Standing in the living room with mirrored faces of shock were two of my best friends, Petey and Brenda Jones. Brenda was Peteys twin sister and the complete and polar opposite from him. Where Petey had always been loud, exuberant, slightly obnoxious and annoying; Brenda was the shy, quiet, sweetheart who had been the only other girl on the block. We always stuck together, defending each other from the wrath of the boys; we were best friends. . . We were sisters.

After another moment of silence me and Brenda both broke out into smiles; screaming and jumping around as we hugged each other. Auntie Hazel and Mrs. Jones just laughed as we continued to jump around with excited yells, stopping every few seconds to look at each other only to start back up again a second later. Even after all these years, she still looked the same as ever; Skinny as can be with straight brown hair and the pretty oval face with brown almond eyes looking out from black framed glasses.

" I can't believe your back! I missed you so much; at first I didn't believe Petey when he first said you were here, it's been so long!" Brenda rushed out after we had stopped jumping.

" I know, it's been way too long. Oh my god I can't believe it's you! I've missed you too!" I replied giving her another hug. I can't believe that it's been nine years since we moved away from Alexandria, but in the two months I've been back I got my best friends and my family again. After letting go of Brenda, I turned my attention over to Petey.

"Petey Jones, it has been a while" I told him with a smile and hands on my hips. " What, big bad football player isn't allowed to hug me now?"

" Girl, you know I'm just waiting for my into. Get over here." He laughed as he caught me in a hug, lifting me off my feet. " I was wondering how long it would take for you to notice I was here, I almost thought you forgot me for a second there" He joked as he put me back on the ground.

"Oh Petey, I don't think anyone could forget that you're in a room," I joked back looking up at him. " when did you all get so big; I feel so short now". It was true, Petey and Julius used to be plucky little boys with no muscles; now the tower over me and actually look like football players.

" No offence Annie, but you are short" Julius teased, moving from his spot against the wall to the now vacant couch. Normally I would have had a decent comeback, but I was unusually off my game today; so I settled for pushing him off the couch and stealing his spot.

" Amazing it's been six years since we've all been together huh?" Asked Brenda, grabbing the spot next to me leaving the boys the floor. " Remember when we used to set up forts in the backyard when we were kids?"

"Oh my god yes! Or the two tree houses that Uncle Charles and your dad built for us?" I replied with a laugh. We had crazy summers when we were younger. We used to build forts in the bushes for our secret hideouts, but when the boys told us that the men where building them a tree house we had wanted one of our own too.

" I can't believe they actually agreed to build both of them for us, but we did have fun", Petey added, sitting against the coffee table across from us.

" Yeah, well they wouldn't of had to if you guys would have agreed to let us use yours, but it was for boys only. Ya'll were mean to us as kids" I replied, lightly smacking Julius on the back of the head from his seat in front of me.

" What you hitting me for? Petey was the mean one, I stood up for you two"

" No, Jerry stood up for us, you on the other hand encouraged Petey. . . Plus your closer" I replied, blocking the pillow that he was trying to hit me with. It wasn't too much longer until Auntie Hazel came back in to vacate us from the living room, sending us out to the back. The boys had started a game of catch with the football, so Brenda and I went to sit by the old oak tree not far from their spot. Amazing how they just got back from an extensive football camp, and they still weren't tired of it.

" I can't believe that your actually back! It was torture the first few months without you. Everyone really missed you." She said as we watched the boys from our spot against the tree.

" I missed you guys too. It was absolute hell without you all! The first place we moved was horrible; thank God we were only there for a year."

"Didn't you move by your dads family first?"

" Yeah, you can imagine how well that went. The second they heard we were coming, they decided that my welcome gift would be to enroll me in this prestigious private school that a bunch of their friends grandchildren went to; I hated it." I told Brenda as she hugged me with a sympathetic smile, she knew all about my family from when we were kids. Daddy had married Momma against their will when he was nineteen, and although Daddy always had been pro-civil rights; his family disagreed. They had always hated the fact that their son married a black women. Although in their society I was viewed as a half-breed, it seemed to be their goal in life to turn me into what they had always wanted Daddy to be. Every time we would visit them, I was swept into a world of money and ball gowns. The fact that my mother wanted nothing to do with their world and hated that they forced me into it only fanned the flame; it was all a game of spite to my grandparents. I hated every minute of it.

"At least your home now. As an added bonus, at this school you don't have to go through the awkward new girl stage considering everyone's more concerned about the integration." Brenda always could make me feel better. She was right though; I highly doubt anyone is going to notice me with everything else to worry about. Talk about your small blessings; if there's anything I hate more than moving, it's being the new girl. I looked up to notice that Julius and Petey had abandoned their game, going over to greet some other guy who showed up. Once Brenda saw what I was looking at she pulled me to my feet and started to lead me over to where the guys were standing.

" Come on, you have to see one more person", she said pulling me along to where the boys were standing. Julius was the first to spot us; grabbing me from Brenda and pushing me in front of him to greet the newest arrival. It only took a few seconds to figure out who he was.

" Jerry Harris, long time no see!" I smiled as I stepped up to give him a hug. Amazing how many hugs I willingly gave out that day; I guess reunions bring out the best in me.

" It's so good to see you Annie . . .or do you go by Leanna now?" he teased giving me a playful nudge once I let go.

" Ha No! It has and always will be Annie. I've heard that you on the other hand apparently go by rev now. Not sure that I completely understand but ok." I replied, stepping over to Julius's side.

" Yeah, it's a long story, but Petey first started it and it just kinda stuck", he laughed.

" Well it fits, boy spends more time in church than he does his own home", Petey replied stepping over to throw an arm behind my back. " So we just gonna stand here or we gonna start up a game again? With the girls here we could hash out something of resemblance."

" Ha! That's funny! Have fun with your game, if you need me I'll be over there." I laughed and started to walk away with Brenda running up to my side, apparently she shared my sentiments. I can barely catch the stupid ball and they really expected me to willingly play? We hadn't even got off the porch when Julius and Petey ran up behind us and threw us over their shoulders with Jerry following behind. I heard Brenda scream when Julius pretended to drop her, leaving me to handle Petey.

" JONES! You put me down! If you drop me, I'm gonna kill you!" I yelled out, gasping when he dropped me into Julius's waiting arms. You would think that teenage boys would find different ways to entertain themselves than watch us squirm. " You know, one of these days you actually going to drop one of us, then your gonna feel bad; and we'll laugh." I replied as I was finally put down.

" So, let me get this straight. Your gonna laugh, even though you're the one on the ground in pain?" Petey laughed, holding the football that Brenda was trying to get out of her reach.

" Um. . . Yes?" It sounded a lot better in my head but like I said, I was off my game today; so instead I pushed him and stole their football. The rest of the afternoon was spent in a similar fashion. We told stories from when we were kids and would end up teasing each other. Then if we didn't have a decent comeback, we would steal something from them and run away. I swear, half the time we acted more like we were seven rather than seventeen. The afternoon wore on, and before long I had to be heading home. So with many goodbyes and promises to call along with a few more hugs from Brenda, Uncle Charles drove me home. I couldn't have been back longer than ten minutes when I heard the phone ring and Daddy yelling upstairs, saying it was Louie. I ran to the kitchen and sat at the counter talking to Louie, telling him everything from my day.

" So that was my big exciting adventure, but enough about me. . .the real and honest answer now, how was camp?" I asked

" **Well, the camp part was really hard but I think we have a good team. Plus I met a lot of people that I have a feeling you would really like. The coaches were pretty cool, and despite your earlier belief I think you'd get along with Boone and Yoast." **

" Oh come on Louie! I've been waiting two weeks for this, you gotta give me something here!" I whined into the phone. The fact that he made friends and all was great, but there had to be something other than Bertiers kiss that raised some excitement. " Anything else happen? More fights? People you don't like? I've been in relative solitude for what feels like forever, I need some excitement."

" **Alright, Jeez you think you would've had more than enough drama after the week you've just had!" **He laughed, I could almost see him shaking his head at the phone.

" Yes well, I'm a girl which entitles me to as much drama as I'd like. Plus once school starts I'm pretty much not going to be able to avoid it, so I might as well here some interesting stuff while I can."

" **Well your definitely right there, but I really don't know what else to tell you. That one coach Tyrell, he seems like a jerk; but other than that the rest of the players seem cool. The ones who don't can at least tolerate each other from what I can see, they just need more time and I'm sure they'll get along." **Louie always had so much optimism, I really don't see how he did it. We hung up a while later, and seeing how Daddy was in his study I went back up to my room.

I sat in the window in my room that night before bed, thinking and looking at the stars. I had been doing that a lot more recently since we moved back here; I guess because I could always see them so clearly. That's one thing that this town has going for it, a beautiful night sky. The stars had a calming presence to them here, almost a sense of serenity. I found it hard to believe that in this town that latched on to all it's anger and hatred of other people that anything could ever feel serene, but every night for the past week those stars gave me a sense of clarity and calming that I haven't felt in a while. Maybe it was because I finally came home, had friends, and found my family; but whatever it was, it felt nice. I went to bed that night, hoping against all odds that even though this town was so wrapped up in its ways, maybe it could get better.

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AN: alright people! Thank you for reading my latest chapter! Sorry it took so long for it to come out, but this last chapter seriously gave me hell. It will not take this long for my next chapter and should be out by the end of the weekend. REVIEWS ARE WONDERFUL!

Peace out Ya'll!


	7. First Day of School

AN: Hello all you beautiful people in the world! I am completely sorry for the unannounced and unintentional hiatus but thanks to all of the super wonderful reviews I got on the last chapter, I have started writing again. I even went back and re-edited all of my other chapters so now it makes a lot more sense and you get a lot more of her life story, so GO READ THEM! Now we get to the interesting stuff, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, how depressing…(including any book titles that may seem familiar)

_New York, New York 1989_

_The summer of 71 was the most complicated summer I have ever had to endure, but I got more out of it than I ever imagined I could've. The last week before school started, I spent all my time split between getting school supplies with Brenda, catching up with my boys, and having my nightly chats with Louie. As the last remaining days of summer dwindled down, the tension in the town grew. People were protesting everywhere, at times it got so bad we thought they would cancel the first couple days of school. It was a crazy time, and the adults weren't the only ones who felt the tension . . ._

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

Our last day of freedom had arrived and I was currently over at Julius's, attempting to enjoy our last night before all hell broke loose. What had originally started as just me and him soon included Petey, Brenda, and Jerry as the night wore on. The news was on in the next room and we had been trying to ignore the broadcasts talking about the chaos going on in the streets all afternoon. Apparently some higher power decided we weren't going to get out of it that easily, every station on the radio and the television had some report about protesters and rallies; add to that phone calls from Lou telling us about the happenings at base where he was helping his dad and you got a twenty four seven information hotline in Ju's living room. We had lapsed into silence for the fifth time that hour and heard the screaming and yelling from the radio in Uncle Charles's study when we decided to move outside to attempt to block out what we would eventually be apart of.

Once we were in the relative quite of the backyard we went to our spot under the tree but couldn't keep the subject out of thought as we all lapsed into silence once again. As much as we had tried to understand the situation, we really had no idea what was going on. We didn't know how bad it was going to be, what was going to happen, or how bad it would have to get.

" So how bad do ya'll thinks its gonna be tomorrow?" Petey asked. I was wondering who would finally break the silence and ask the question. I looked around to everyone, all snapped out of the thoughts and trying to find an answer that would fit.

" From what we've heard today, a lot of people aren't happy. . . I don't think it'll go away overnight" I replied.

" I just hope that it doesn't get too out of hand. With that many angry people it can get bad quick, I heard that they were even thinking of canceling the first couple days of school." Brenda said from her spot against the tree. I had heard the rumors too and I know a lot of parents were pushing for it, they all thought it would be safer that way.

"They won't cancel, this is a chance to make a statement about how its gonna be." Julius replied sitting up from his current spot where he was laying on the ground. "The only way they would cancel is if people end up getting hurt tomorrow, although that doesn't sound to unrealistic right now" I wish that I didn't have to agree with him but what he said was the truth. People had been getting real tense and more aggressive lately, I wouldn't be surprised if a few people got hurt and by then it would be to late to do anything. It was a sad truth, but one we needed to come to grips with sooner rather than later.

" Everyone is still new to the idea of integration, we just have to give it time and it will start to lessen up" Rev said. He had been quiet for most of the afternoon, I wanted to believe what he said, but even he didn't seem to have much faith in his words. Reality was that there wasn't enough time to give before something might happen.

" Well whatever happens, between the school and the bussing its gonna be a hard day for us." It might have seemed silly to worry about bus situations with everything else going on, but how are we going to survive school if we cant even survive the ride there? People had been beaten in other states for attempting what we were starting, I can't imagine that it will be any different.

"We just have to take it one day at a time, eventually it will get better. They'll run out of steam as long as they see that nothing they do can change what's gonna happen. We just have to have faith" replied Rev for the second time. One thing I'll say for his logic, he will always win the argument. Once Rev starts giving his view and brings faith into the equation, any debate will be over and you will have lost. Badly.

We hung out back for a while more until Brenda, Petey, and Rev all had to go home. We made plans to meet out in front of the school once we got there so they could meet up with their friends and Brenda and I could compare schedules. Honestly I think it was just because Julius could keep an eye on me that way, I could've met up with Brenda anywhere and I have no need to meet their friends, but whatever. I had a feeling I would want to be around someone familiar tomorrow, and if that person just happened to be a couple muscled football players then so be it.

I stayed for a while longer and had dinner with Aunty Hazel, Uncle Charles, and Julius considering Daddy was working late. It seemed that the tension of the town was starting to seep in everywhere. Uncle Charles who is usually loud and always telling stories was unusually solemn and quiet tonight where Aunty Hazel couldn't stop talking in order to fill the silence. Every few minutes she would give us some sort of advice or worry that we didn't have all our supplies we needed. By the time Julius drove me home she had checked, double checked, and triple checked that I had everything and was completely ready for school.

"Alright, now don't forget your books and make sure that you have a ride to get home tomorrow, we don't want you takin' the bus till everything cools down. As soon as you get to the school go find Julius so he knows your alright. By the way how are you gettin' home tomorrow?" Aunty Hazel rushed out as she gave me one last hug.

" Don't worry everything will be fine, I have everything I need. Louie was gonna drive me tomorrow morning since Daddy has to work and I was gonna walk home after school, its not that far and to be honest I could walk to school if Daddy hadn't freaked out." I laughed as I started to head towards to door before she stopped me again.

"Oh I don't think so! You ain't gonna walk anywhere especially with all these people getting hot under the collar, Julius why don't you drive her home tomorrow after practice? Besides I'm sure Brenda's gonna stay too, ya'll can do homework together."

"Yeah, it won't be that bad and practice is only for like two hours, I'll just drive you home after". After I agreed we finally got out of the door and into the car so I could go home. I really didn't need to be looked after this much, its only a twenty minute walk from school to home, fifteen if I take the shortcut by the running trail but I have to admit it was sort of nice. Having people look out for you showed that you have someone who cares and its always nice to be cared about and looked after for a change. I mean, I'll always have daddy, but it's been just me and him for so long, its kind of nice to have other people too. Julius dropped me off and made me promise to come find him in the morning, so with a quick goodbye and kiss on the cheek I left to go salvage what little was left of my night. Almost as soon as I walked in the door the phone started ringing, soon to find out it was Louie, that boy had the most amazing timing. After agreeing to be ready by 7 we hung up. Let me tell you, school starts way to early for my tastes.

I headed upstairs to read for a bit, I was already half way through _The Exorcist _and was absolutely loving it when I wasn't terrified. Daddy picked it up at the store for me and thought I would be interested in it, a great book although not a great choice when alone. Needless to say I was left awake for quite a while, but that just gave me time to think. This town was nothing like I remembered it. I remembered backyard swings and trips to the park. Mom's apple pie and Aunty Hazels cherry cobbler. Julius teaching me how to swim in the lake, sleepovers with Brenda, Petey chasing us around, Rev trying to teach me how to climb a tree. All of these memories were what I remembered about Alexandria. I felt at home in those memories, but now looking at what this town has become its foreign to me. It has turned darker and colder, making me feel more out of my element than I ever have before. I fell asleep that night watching the stars like I had every night for the past week, thinking about how much was different. Alexandria has changed, I just hoped it could eventually change back…

6:00 A.M, First day of School

A loud ringing in my ear signaled that the deadly hour had finally arrived and the headache inducing alarm clock that so cheerily woke me up was unceremoniously smashed to the floor as I shot an arm out from under my blanket to try and make it stop. I laid in bed for a few more minutes hoping that I was in a bad dream and I didn't have to go to school today, but once I peeked out and saw on my clock on the floor that it was indeed six a.m paired with the red circle around today's date; I knew I couldn't win the argument against myself. It was the first day of school, and the first official day of integration; oh joy, the fun we'll have today. I hauled myself out of bed and after picking up my alarm clock and sending a glare its way, I dragged myself to my closet to pick out something suitable to wear. All of my summer clothes consisting of jeans, tee-shirts, and sweatshirts had been put in boxes and replaced by school approved skirts and blouses, even a few pairs of nice khaki pants that I managed to pull off. I hate skirts. The only reason I'm even agreeing to wear them is so I will manage to stick out less, the last thing I need is to be labeled the 'freaky new girl' who can only manage to make friends with guys on the football team. No doubt my label would then be changed to something along the 'whore' variety. I say again, oh the fun I'll have today.

After choosing a knee length navy blue skirt with a white blouse, I ran to the shower in an effort to actually be ready on time. After I showered, changed, and brushed out my hair, applying a little make up along the way, I shot a quick look in the mirror. My long brown hair hung in waves around my shoulders and my green eyes were outlined with the most natural looking makeup I could find, blending in nicely with my naturally tanned skin color. It wasn't a horrible look, in fact it actually looked kind of nice; it just wasn't what im used to, it wasn't me. I was able to wear jeans and pants in my other schools without being weird. Even by my grandparents where they had uniforms, I could still have an option between a skirt or pants. _oh well _I thought as I grabbed all my books and my bag, _at least I can still wear my normal clothes on weekends and holidays. _With that I rushed down the stairs, shocked that I still had a whole fifteen minutes before I had to leave, I totally could have slept an extra ten. I made my way over to the coffee pot, thrilled that it was already made and still warm when I saw a note and an envelope under my designated coffee cup (it was the biggest one we had). After I poured myself some and added generous amounts of cream and sugar I sat on the counter to read what the note had to say, probably from dad considering he was leaving when I was getting up.

_Annie,_

_Sorry I cant be there this morning, I know how hard the first day of new schools can be for you, especially this year. I know that Julius, Louie, and the boys will take good care of you. Make sure that you get a ride home, I don't want you walking anywhere for the next few days, the town has been pretty fired up. I'll be home around 5 tonight, see you then. Good luck on your first day, and don't worry; everything will be fine._

_Love,_

_Dad_

_(P.S. I left you a present in the envelope for strength)_

I opened the envelope while smiling into my cup, daddy always left me something sweet on the first day of school, especially if he wasn't going to be there and this years gift was no exception. I put down my cup and dumped out the context of the envelope, picking up the picture of me and my mom that fell out. I smiled down at it for a while, remembering when it was taken. It was the first day of 6th grade and we had just moved to a new area. Mom grabbed the camera like she did every year to take my picture, but this time dad got there first telling mom to get in the picture with me. She came over and hugged me from behind and right before the flash went off, told me that everything would be fine, that they'd be crazy not to like me at this new school. Paired with daddy's special pancakes, that was the best first day I've ever had. I stuck the picture into the side pocket of my bag and moved on to the other thing that daddy left me, his dog tags. I took a minute to look at the tags at the end of the chain, remembering when I would used to sit on his lap when I was little and be so infatuated with them, memorizing everything that was etched on the thin metal plates. Noticing the clock on the wall, I put my empty cup in the sink and lifted the chain around my neck, hiding the tags in my shirt before grabbing my bag and running out the door just as Louie was walking over.

"Hey Ann, ya ready for our first day of school?" he asked as he gave me a quick hug before unlocking the car and climbing in.

"Oh yeah, I'm thrilled. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't take math." I replied while buckling myself in, receiving a laugh from Louie.

" Come on, it can't be that bad, and I know you absolutely hate skirts and stuff but if its any conciliation you look very nice today." He smiled at me while backing out of the drive. Louie was so sweet, even when having a bad day just a few words can cheer me up.

"It's not, but thank you none the less." I laughed. We kept driving and the closer we got to school the closer we got to the protesters, they were a big crowd. We started to slow down as the streets got thicker with people and as we neared the entrance to the school, traffic was almost a dead stop. People with signs were screaming and yelling, beating on cars and throwing stuff at buses and passing students. The police had formed sort of a blockade between the school and the street, moving aside for cars then rushing back in place to stop the flow of people. We had managed to make it to the parking lot unscathed, trying to fight our way to the front of the school without getting caught up in either side. Once we found a familiar face in the crowd, we made our way over to Petey and Brenda.

"What you doing in my school boy?" teased Louie, doing that one armed hug thing that men are so found of.

"Hey man, pretty crazy huh? Oh by the way, this is my sis Brenda" he replied with a smile, pushing Brenda forward. While they shook hands and started talking, Petey turned to me.

"Hey you found your cousin yet? Julius was looking for you earlier, I think he was gettin a little worried." He said giving me a quick hug. I scanned the crowd, trying to find him in the sea of people, I thought it wouldn't be that hard considering how freaking tall the guy got.

"No I haven't seen him yet, we just got here" I replied before spotting him in the crowd talking to another white boy. "Oh never mind, I found him". I started over towards where he was before Louie grabbed my arm.

"Hey hold on, I'll walk you over." he told me, looking around with dark eyes at all the people staring at us, a lot of them giving us strange or dirty looks. "We'll see you guys later, Brenda it was nice meeting you." He said while I gave a little wave and a quick 'goodbye' to Brenda, starting into the crowd. They gave a wave and a nod of the head, and headed off towards the front of the school to talk to a few other people who looked familiar to the boys at the football meeting. Louie and I walked past all the groups mingling on the front lawn, ignoring the protesters until we got into eyesight of Julius. He was talking to the white boy and another girl who had joined them, until she stormed off right past us leaving him looking confused and Julius looking down with a sad smirk on his face. Walking up I heard the last part of their conversation.

"Looks like we ain't in camp anymore huh superman?" The boy smiled at Julius, then nodded his head, signaling Ju to turn around; not really sure if he was pointing me or Louie out.

"Annie, there you are. I've been lookin all over for you. Hey Lou how's it going?" He asked giving Louie a handshake, the other boy doing the same.

" Well superman, this is my girl I've been telling you about. Ann this is Gerry Bertier" He introduced, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me forward. So this was the infamous Gerry, looks like he changed quite a bit at camp. He didn't give off that 'I hate you' vibe anymore that made me want to hit him. He gave a confused look towards me and Julius but offered his hand. After our handshake he still looked confused, not quite sure why.

" Wow, I would have never guessed you two to be cousins." he finally said, all of the pieces popping into place in my mind.

"Why? Can't you see the family resemblance?" I teased leaning back into Julius, giving my best innocent face watching his eyes widen and him start stuttering.

"Oh no. . . I mean yes. . . I mean. . ." He stuttered as Julius started snickering behind me and I broke down and smiled at him.

"Relax, I'm just kidding. Surprisingly enough we do get that quite a lot." I reassured watching his face go back to normal and Julius lightly shoving me from behind whispering 'be nice' to me. So it might've been a little mean, particularly today but I couldn't resist. The boys continued their conversation for a few more minutes, a few boys waving and shouting out greetings, sending a few awkward glances my way. Not even fifteen minutes into school and I was already sick of it. I spotted Brenda standing near Petey over by the stair steps, looking just as bored as I was.

"Well it was nice meeting you Gerry, but I see someone I know. See you guys later" I said as I tried to get away from the crowd the second time that morning, only to be stopped a second time by Julius's hand on my arm.

"Whoa hold up. Who do you know anyway?" He asked, turning his head when I pointed to the school steps and over towards Brenda and Petey who was now joined by Rev. " Got it, hold on a second and we'll go with you." he replied, receiving nods from both Gerry and Louie. Remember what I said earlier about having people care about you? Well scratch that, it's actually quite annoying. I rolled my eyes and sighed before replying.

"I'm a big girl Julius, I can make it to the school steps all by myself" I said as his eyes scanned the crowd. " Don't worry, I can take care of myself" I finished, trying to drive my point home while catching his eye. When he finally did look at me, he moved his eyes over my shoulder before giving his answer.

"I'd feel better if you just stayed by us for a while" he replied, his voice colder as I turned my head to see what he was looking at. About seven or so white boys was giving us the most hatred filled look imaginable, one of them was even wringing his hands around a baseball bat. I turned my head back towards the group and noticed that Louie and Gerry were both glaring back, so I relented and waited for Julius and the others. After another few minutes of conversation with random people I wasn't interested in, the first bell sounded and everyone was being herded to the doors. Once we made it to the doors I managed to catch Brenda before she got in the school to see what homeroom we were in. I thought it stupid that they sent out homeroom numbers in the mail during the summer but not schedules, it would save a lot of time. As stupid of a system as it might have seemed at least I got a break in the fact that the rooms were randomly selected and not alphabetized, turns out Brenda and I were in the same room at least. So we headed in the doors, my watchful cousin always a step behind us along with the few people he managed to meet up with along the way.

"Okay I gotta get to homeroom; if you guys just take this hallway and then the first left the first class will be where you need to be, I'll meet you outside of you class before lunch." Julius said after handing me back my schedule. It was kind of cute that he was making sure that I knew where all my classes were, but I had been walking around the school a week prior so I really didn't need the help. I didn't need a bodyguard either, but he kept insisting and there was no argument with Julius once he made up his mind. With a quick goodbye and promise to wait by my class I grabbed Brenda and practically dragged her down the hallway to get away from my cousins ever watchful eyes.

"So Julius has been pretty bad about this whole situation too huh?" laughed Brenda after I released her arm once we rounded the corner. "I know the feeling, Petey has barely let me out of his sight since we got here, to be honest I'm surprised he's not following me to class" we both laughed and entered the classroom heading towards the back. We were the only two in the class so far, even the teacher wasn't there. We sat in the two desks in the back row, talking about how their mother had been so worried she almost kept them from coming to school. People started trickling in slowly, each person shooting dirty looks or eye rolls to our corner when they saw us talking together. People are so stupid sometimes. What really bugged me was when the teacher walked in. Most of the class was segregated, one color per side and those in the middle rows sat as far away from each other as they could, the teacher did nothing. If anything she took one look at me and Brenda talking and shot me a glare that could've killed; I cant believe they let people like that teach. The final bell rang and the class got quite as the teacher stood up front and introduced herself, smiling at the whites and glaring at the blacks, and me in association. It was going to be a long day. . . .

AN: Yea! Extra long chapter for you lovelies. I hope you enjoyed it. Also because I have another three days of no school, you all will get another chapter within the next two days. Fun! Thank you for reading and remember REVIEWS MAKE HAPPY PEOPLE!!!

Peace, Love, Rock out!


	8. First Day Blues

AN: Hello my lovelies! I was thrilled at how many people viewed my newest chapter even after I didn't update for like two months, you people rock my world. Because of the wonderful reviews I got I was inspired to finally finish this chapter. Anyway now on to what your all interested in, the story where we get to read about the first day of school, fun!

Disclaimer: Again, I own absolutely nothing that seems remotely familiar. . . I just borrow and put my artistic license to use. Hooray for artistic licenses and borrowing!

_New York, New York 1989_

_That first day of school. God that was a miserable day for all of us. Between parents fighting outside and students fighting inside you couldn't escape anywhere. The worst part was no one would give anyone a chance. If you even smiled at someone of a different race there was always that one person present who would make it known, turning you into the most hated person in the room. God forbid if you were actually friends with someone or talked to them. I could tell it was going to be a long year . . ._

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

Brenda and I were sitting in the back of class, attempting and failing to ignore all of the stares and whispers we were receiving. I could tell she was uncomfortable with all the attention, she was getting really quite and kept her eyes down as more people came in. I kept my eye on the door, watching to see if anyone seemed familiar; to give me something to do more than anything. The silence was killing me.

I kept my eyes on the door, sighing in relief and nudging Brenda once I finally noticed a few friendly faces. About a minute before the bell rang Rev and the guy Louie introduced as Sunshine walked in the door, noticing us in the back and grabbing the last two seats beside us. We only had time for a quick 'hey' before the teacher decided to make her presents known.

" Alright, settle down please. I'd like to get this all over as quickly and painlessly as possible." she barked as her eyes moved around the class, glaring at a majority of us. She didn't seem to want to be here as much as we did. " I'm Mrs. Thorne and you all get the privilege of seeing my joyful self _every _morning" she finished moving back to her desk to pick up an armful of papers. I take back what I said earlier, she didn't seem to just hate blacks, but _everyone_. Her name definitely fit her. She was a middle aged woman with her blonde hair in a tight bun and a tight lipped expression making her seem to not have a bottom lip at all; overall a very scary woman with a very harsh attitude.

" Here are all of your schedules and any information you may need about classes. Come on up when I call you and look over your schedules quietly. We only need to survive about ten more minutes so lets see if we can do it without getting on each others nerves."

Once all the names were called out and everyone got their schedules and were back in their seats, an awkward silence fell over the class as the teacher sat behind her desk. Everyone was tense, and not because of the icy glare our teacher gave as she scanned the crowd. Nothing but heated looks were sent between the two sides of the class, no words spoken at all. Now normally I would have attacked Brenda and Rev, stealing their schedules to see what classes we had together; possibly even Ronnie's had I not seen any common classes, but because of the intensity of the room I thought it best to keep to myself.

I sat staring down at my schedule, attempting to memorize the room numbers and trying to remember the quickest way to get there when an intricately folded piece of paper and a note showed up on my desk. I spent three minutes trying to get the first one open before looking up to see Brenda smiling and staring out of the corner of her eye. Of course it was hers, she is the only one who folds like that. I think she does it on purpose, she knows I cant get them undone and probably thinks its funny to watch me try.

I finally managed to get it straightened out, the once crisp piece of paper now crinkled and torn in my pathetic attempts to open it, smiling to myself as I saw what was written on it. All of her room numbers and teachers were written down. . . she knows me all to well. After a quick comparison I noticed we had four classes together, including lunch and homeroom. I was really disappointed that we didn't have math together, I was definitely going to fail now.

I moved on to the second note, realizing it must be Rev's because I didn't know anyone else in the class, and highly doubting Sunshine would willingly relinquish his stuff to a stranger. Opening the second, much less complicated note, Rev's schedule was written out in his elegant scripture type handwriting. Compared to my chicken scratch, it was perfect. Reading through his schedule I noticed that most of his classes were advanced, no surprise there, but at least we had Psychology class together with Brenda. Taking a closer look I noticed we had Math together too. Thank God! Maybe I won't fail after all.

Overall pleased with the fact that I had at least one person in a few classes I started to relax a bit, packing away the notes and taking a quick glance up to the clock. Only two more minutes before homeroom ended and so far no one was in the nurses office or dead, overall an acceptable start considering how this morning was, although I doubted it would stay that way long.

The bell rang and the class emptied before I even had my bag on my shoulder. Amazing, only ten minutes and my faith in the human race has plummeted to non-existence; today was definitely going to be an 'I hate people day'. Brenda, Rev, Sunshine and I all were the last to leave, and seeing no immediate hurry decided to figure out where to meet up later.

"Alright, well do you guys want to meet in front of the lunch room; we all have fifth right?" Asked Brenda after taking a quick look at her schedule.

"Yeah what class do you two have before? we could meet you." Sunshine suggested, joining the conversation for the first time all morning.

" Thanks but our keepers already have that under control. I honestly surprised they're letting us walk to class by ourselves." I added with a smirk while Brenda laughed.

" You know that Julius and Petey are just looking out for you two, it's a rough first day and no one wants to see you get hurt." Rev replied with a smile before Sunshine spoke up again.

"Well I know you girls were looking forward to your walk to class in peace but if I'm not mistaken I think a few people are looking for you" I looked over to where he was pointing and let out a groan. Julius, Petey, and Gerry all rounded the corner and headed over to where we were standing. I noticed Rev shooting me a look that screamed 'behave' before they all joined our mingled group in the hall.

" Hey guys how was homeroom?" Petey asked throwing a hand around Brenda's shoulder before grabbing her class list.

"Well no one died, so I'd say that's a good sign" I replied leaning against a locker and handing over my schedule to Julius's waiting hand with a sigh. It was going to be a long day, and to make matters worse now I had to go suffer through a Spanish class. I don't see why the school systems started that new graduation requirement where you need two years of a foreign language. We had the choice between French or Spanish and to be honest I would probably suck at both of them, but people have been telling me Spanish was easier to learn.

" I'd love to stay and chat but we have three minutes to get to class" I said while struggling to reach my schedule Julius was holding above his head. " Don't wanna give the Spanish teacher more of a reason to hate me" I mumbled under my breathe after snatching back my class list and giving a quick wave to the group.

I got to the right room number after taking two wrong hallways, running in the class a minute before the bell rang. I didn't have time to do an intricate observation like in my last class, but from what I saw while looking for a seat it was a common set up. Whites on one side and blacks on another, I always wondered where to sit in situations like this; but that problem had been taken care of for me as I headed to the only desk left in the front of the room. I sat down as the bell rang and the teacher began his introduction.

" Hello class, I'm Mr. Smith and welcome to Spanish" He began while smiling at us and handing out thick packets of papers to all the rows. This class was drastically different from the last. Mr. Smith was a tall black man with a bright smile and an overall pleasant feel to him with a kind voice. Even if I would probably end up failing the class; I might actually enjoy the teacher.

" Now I'm not a big fan of 'icebreakers', I don't really think they do anything but make people feel uncomfortable, so I figured we'd jump right in. What I'm handing out is the vocabulary list for this semester" Oh joy, vocabulary. I couldn't stand vocabulary in a regular English class, let alone a class where I don't understand what the teachers saying. " Now I know it may seem a little daunting, but I just want you all to learn a column at a time. Next Friday we will have a quiz on the first column, that way you all have the weekend to start studying considering this year we started on a Thursday."

After we got our Spanish books to help us with the vocab, we started to go over the packet, Mr. Smith explained the correct pronunciation for certain words. Before long the class was over and I had effectively zoned out for the last thirty minutes, at least I managed to catch the explanation for the homework which was just a one page worksheet; not too bad.

I packed up my notebooks and papers and headed for the door, trying to look at my schedule while juggling my bag and books. Not the greatest idea I've ever had. Needless to say it wasn't long before I was on the ground with a bruise forming on my arm and another girl in front of me trying to pick up all of her books along with mine.

"Oh My Gosh! I am so sorry, I didn't see you" she sped out, profusely apologizing while trying to gather scattered papers.

"it's fine. Don't worry about it. Actually I think it was my fault, after all I wasn't looking." I replied while trying to find my Spanish book. It appeared in front of me, and I saw the girl holding it out to me with a smile. I thanked her and picked up the rest of my stuff while standing and helping her up.

" Thank you, I'm Susan by the way" She said while straightening out her dress. She was a pretty girl, looked to be about my age with pale skin and wavy black hair matching her dark eyes. She sounded like she had an accent as well, I think British.

" No Problem, I'm Leanna; but you can call me Annie" I replied while shaking her hand. "Hey wasn't I just in Spanish with you?" I think she was the girl that sat a few seats behind me, but I wasn't really paying attention too well during that class.

"Umm, yeah I think you sat a few seats in front of me, so where are you heading next?" She asked while I looked at my schedule to try and figure out where to go.

"Uhh History. . . Who plans these things? I'm fine with history class and all, but why does it have to be at nine in the morning?" I asked while she laughed and shouldered her purse. " Well I guess I gotta go find a random class; I don't even know where this area of the school is. I'll see you around" I replied with while starting down the hallway and waving.

I ran down the last two hallways nearly late again for my next class, skidding to a halt outside to double check I had the right room. I entered the class and froze once I saw our teacher leaning against his desk and observing the room; of all the history teachers in this school I had to get Coach Boone. I made my way to the back of the room, surprised to see Julius, Gerry, and Louie all there as well. Julius looked up and I gave a quick wave before settling into the seat in the front of the room I was closest to before the bell rang. As soon as it did, the fun began.

"Alright, I'm Coach Boone and I will be your history teacher for this hour. Don't bother getting too comfortable because your just going to have to move again." He said as he stood up from his desk with a sheet of paper in hand. "I have already made a seating chart, it is random but there will be no switching or substitutions; go ahead and move once I call your name." He started calling off names and people hurried to their seats, some none to pleased about who they were sitting with. He got through the first rows and I started to pay attention so I wouldn't miss my name, at least maybe I can sit by Julius.

" Julius Campbell. . . Leanna O'Connell. . ." Boone faltered somewhat, looking up from his list to shoot me and Julius a quick glance before going on to name more people from the list; not quite sure what his deal is. I made my way to the seat next to Julius, dropping by bag down while grabbing out a notebook and seeing Ju role his eyes. He always made fun of me for being a slight nerd, always told me I was the only one he knew who would actually take notes on the first day.

Once we had all managed to get our seats I looked around the class while Boone made his way around handing out packets. Julius and I were in the second row along with another boy he was talking to this morning, I think they called him Blue. Gerry sat in front of me, turned around to join in the conversation along with Louie who sat directly behind Julius.

Boone handed us all packets with a lot of questions along with assigning us the largest history book I have ever seen. The rest of the class was a basic first day fun down of class policies, homework standards, the first unit we will be studying, blah blah blah. I actually really do enjoy history, I find it completely fascinating; just not the first day. Boone continued on his lecture about supplies needed and a brief introduction of the class and some basic information on each section we will study and as hard as I tried to pay attention I still tuned out barely catching the last minute.

"Alright guys, the bells about to ring so for homework tonight I would like you all to read through the first section of chapter 3 and fill out the corresponding pages on the packet. We will start our notes on the colonial age tomorrow, have a nice night." he finished just as the bell rang. Everyone rushed out of the class, leaving the few stragglers behind include Julius and me.

"So Mr. Campbell, is this the infamous Annie you were going on about during camp?" Coach Boone asked as Julius and I walked up to his desk.

" Yes sir, this is my cousin Annie. . . Ann you know our football coach" Julius replied while I shouldered my bag and switched books around to accept the handshake our teacher offered.

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. O'Connell, Julius here was going on about you all week during football camp along with Jerry and Petey" he said with a genuine smile. I have to admit I was a little taken aback. Scary, strict football coach was actually quite. . .nice; hmmm weird.

"Its nice to meet you too sir, I hate to rush off but I have to find my physics class and I have no idea where to go." After a quick explanation from Boone about where the general location of my class was, I left with three minutes before class to spare. Walking into the classroom I was surprised at the number of people in the class. There was maybe ten kids top and the bell was about to ring so I expected not many more would come in. Rev had told me to expect this when I told him of my plans to take advanced physics this year, he had been in the advanced placement track for years and had told me not many people continued to take the more tricky classes liked physics. I was a little worried at first, but at least he could help me if I fell too far behind.

I noticed the girl that I had ran into, Susan I think her name was, in the front of the class so I took the seat available next to her, not noticing anyone else familiar in the class.

" Hey, looks like we have another class together" she replied with a smile after noticing me sit next to her. Yep, definitely a British accent.

" So how have your classes been so far" I asked.

" Not too bad, it's a little strange here though. . . I guess I'm not used to American schools yet"

" I know what you mean, I'm new to this school too. Where are you from if you don't mind me asking"

"My family just moved here from the UK, my father got a job promotion which ended up taking him over seas" she explained. The teacher walked in and as soon as the bell rang we started class with the eleven kids who had decided to risk taking this class, not a comforting fact for the beginning of the year. We started off right away with notes, this class apparently didn't believe in the 'do nothing on the first day' rule that other teachers were fascinated with. It wasn't really anything too complicated so that wasn't a bad start, at least I wouldn't start the semester not understanding what we were talking about on the first day. Really it was kind of interesting, the teacher listened to our ideas and thoughts on theories instead of just running a lecture hall; I could end up liking this class if I figured out what everyone was talking about.

The bell rang forty minutes later and for the first time today I didn't completely zone out or tune out anything. The fact that I didn't have any homework in that class tonight was an added little bonus. I left Susan after agreeing to meet up with her before Spanish class the next morning and started down the hall towards where I assumed the lunch room was when I saw Julius walking towards me.

" Hey Ann, how's your day going so far" he asked while giving me a quick hug seeing as no one was around. Typical Julius, no signs of emotion unless no one is there to see them; I cant blame him though. You don't want to stir up the water anymore than necessary on a day like today and people obviously didn't understand or like our situation.

" Well, I cant complain too much I guess. . . I haven't had math yet, knocked down a girl in the hallway, somewhat understand the general concept in physics, and I've come to accept the fact that I'm probably going to fail Spanish so I'd say it was a fairly productive day" I said while handing over the overtly large history book that Julius was offering to take.

" I don't know what your so worried about, they wouldn't have recommended you for the advanced math and physics classes unless you could handle them. I can't say much about Spanish though, I'll probably end up failing that too" he replied giving me a smile.

" Well at least if we fail, we can fail together" not the most comforting thought, but it worked for the moment. We entered the cafeteria and I wanted to walk back out. It was horrible in there. It was absolute silence and every table stared at another. Gerry beckoned Julius over to where he was waiting in the back of the room and I noticed some tables outside and out of view from the street. Maybe I could go out there and get some homework done, at least the protesters weren't around this area to bother us. Apparently the others had the same idea and already had two tables pushed together by the time we got out there.

Julius led me over to the farthest table where Petey and Brenda where sitting and already arguing about something while Gerry sat down on his other side. Louie filled in the empty gap beside me followed by Rev who took the seat across. By the time the final bell rang, our two tables had been completely filled with what I assumed to be football players. Julius sat talking to a couple guys about one of the teachers they had until one of them I noticed me.

" Well considering that no one is going to introduce me to the pretty lady sitting beside you I guess I'll have to do it myself" said a large black boy, the same one in our history class. " You can call me Blue sweetheart" he replied taking my hand while placing a kiss on my knuckle from across the table. I stifled the laugh that was trying to break out while Brenda hid behind her hand seeing the look Julius was giving him.

" Alright, I get it. Everyone this is my cousin Annie; Annie this is the football team" he replied shooting Blue a warning look, forcing him to let go of my hand.

"Wow Julius, that was a fabulous introduction. You have such a way with words" I said, sarcasm dripping from every word. He apparently didn't think it was as funny as Petey did, instead he stole my water bottle. " well seeing as my adoring cousin is too busy stealing my stuff" I replied while attempting to reach my water bottle he was holding out of my reach " I guess I'll do it myself, Blue was it?" I said sitting back down, failing miserably at trying to get my water back. We went through the table, Blue introducing me to a white skinny kid named Alan who sat across from sunshine who also joined our table, and Jerry Buck; a lean black guy with a buzz cut who I decided to call Buck since two Jerry's would be confusing.

" So Annie, how did you like your physics class?" Rev asked me from across the table.

" Well, I kind of understand what's going on and I understand the concept of the notes so I'm guessing not that bad" I replied with a smirk.

" Well that's a good start, don't worry you'll do fine. Once we get into the school year a bit more you get the hang of it in no time", how he manages to be so freaking optimistic all the time was really starting to bother me. He was the only one I know who could keep their cool in a time like this when I'm getting pissed off just because I have to wake up at six in the morning for the next nine months.

I turned my attention to Brenda who had given up trying to reason with Petey, and was throwing out her lunch. For twins they really argued a lot. She sat back down and handed me her granola bar she saved, I could never figure out why she hated granola bars so much. I looked around and noticed a person sitting against a tree a little ways off and after noticing it was Susan I thought I would bring Brenda over to say hi.

" Hey Bren, you wanna go meet someone" I asked rolling my eyes at her astonished look she sent me.

" You actually met someone you don't hate today? Wow what an accomplishment" she teased while I narrowed my eyes. Not wanting to sit by the guys anymore I stood up to go see Susan, grabbing Brenda's arm to make her come with me on my way past.

" Alright so who exactly am I meeting?" she asked, looking at the girl against the tree we were heading towards.

"Her names Susan and she just moved here, she's in a few of my class and I thought it would be nice if we said hello so she wouldn't be alone on her first day" I explained in a rush while we walked up to her.

"Hey Susan, this is my friend Brenda. Brenda this is Susan" I greeted, as she looked up in surprise.

" Oh hey, I didn't know you had lunch now" she said as she put her book down and stood up while straightening out her skirt and extending a hand " Hi, its nice to meet you Brenda".

" It's nice to meet you too. Annie said that you just moved here, I hope you like it in Virginia." she replied with a smile, taking the outstretched hand while sending a quick glance my way. At least we knew the new girl wasn't racist, a small blessing in a world of chaos.

" Well, it's a bit different than the UK. To be honest I wasn't sure what all the commotion was about until my dad explained about the integration" she smiled as we all took a seat under the shade. " I think its fantastic what's happening here, the UK had been integrated for a while when we moved there, so its pretty great to get a first hand experience at helping the movement along" she finished with a smile. I think Petey would like her a lot, they both seem to be quite outspoken.

" Well I'm glad your into this stuff, but I've gotta warn you; not many other people see it that way" replied Brenda with a small smile. It was depressing really, Brenda was always one of those optimistic people and seeing her all downtrodden like this just showed how bad of a situation we were in right now.

" It will get better with time, everything just needs to cool down a bit" said Susan, returning the smile. At least in a day of chaos, I managed to make a new friend who got along with my best friend. We sat and talked about our classes for a few more moments, ranting about the fact that we were forced to take Spanish. Ha! At least I'm not the only one who hates it!

I heard some yelling coming from behind us and looked up to see Petey about to face off with a white boy who looked like he was willing and capable of beating him into the ground.

"Oh no. . . Brenda go get your brother before he gets his ass kicked!" I said standing up while pulling her with me, giving a quick wave back to Susan before running off. Brenda got there first and started to pull on Peteys arm, attempting to drag him back to the table while the white boys girlfriend did the same. Noticing Julius stand up and start to head over I ran past, stopping just short of my cousin.

" Julius, no. . . Stop!" I said, standing in front of him and trying to block him from going over to Petey. " If you start up anything, they will throw you out faster than you can blink" I replied, putting my hands on his arms to try and push him back. Not that I didn't want to help him, but Brenda had already managed to pull him back and the white boy started to walk away, if Julius went over there it would just start things up again and I had no doubt that Julius would hurt the boy if need be.

" Julius she's right, sit down man. If we start something it can get out of hand really quick" Rev said while grabbing his arm and pulled him back with the help of Gerry. By that time Petey and Brenda had made it back we had managed to get Julius calmed down enough to sit. The rest of our lunch break was spent in awkward silence until the bell rang, and I've never been happier to have to go to class. We cleared off of the little patio, sending half-hearted farewells to each other while making our way back into the school. After a quick talk with Julius about where to meet up with each other after the final bell, I ran ahead to catch up with Brenda and Rev while making our way to Psychology. If the second half of the day was going to proceed like the first, then I was either in store for a decent first day, or a date with an Advil bottle. . .

AN: Alright so it's finally done! My next chapter will cover her second half of the day as well as football practice, Yay! I'm hoping to have it done by the time I go back to school, but who knows. I will try my best and thank you to all of you who have kept up with my story and remember, Reviews make very happy authors who then write faster!

Peace out


	9. Julius is going to explode!

Hello everyone! It has been a long six months since I last updated and I would like to thank all of you who stuck with me. So without further ado, here is the new chapter and I promise I will start updating faster now that summer is finally here.

Warning: The paragraphs in this one are a little long and the chapters a little short but I promise the next one is longer, it'll be up this weekend, I promise ; )

Disclaimer: I own nothing so don't sue…..all my money went to college anyway

_New York, New York 1989_

_If anything, that first day grew progressively worse as the hours past. The tension from that morning exploded the last few hours. Every period till the end of the day had a fight in one of the classes, and I could not wait for that day to end. _

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

I slumped against the locker next to Brenda outside our seventh period English class where we were told to wait. We had just left a surprisingly uneventful and empty psychology class. According to the teacher, Ms. Simmons, with all the new elective classes that the school opened the classics like psychology were forgotten, leaving anywhere between ten and fifteen people in a class. We had just left Rev and when we got to our English class; our teacher was standing outside telling us to line up so each student could get assigned a book before finding our seats. For an advanced class, the student turnout was surprisingly large for this subject. There were about twenty or so people lined up so far with another few minutes to go until the bell rang.

We finally got to the front of the line and received a book before I examined the seating chart and realized that Brenda and I were not going to be able to sit together. With a look of despair, I left her in the front of the room to go to my seat in the back. Looking around, I noticed that I was directly in between a very muscular and very tall black boy and a very angry white boy who looked like he played football; both of whom looked very upset. Class finally started and our teacher, Mrs. Price; a meek woman who looked very skittish, began class by assigning us a partner to work on prompts with. After everyone moved to sit next to or somewhat near their partner the entire class got an eerie feel to it, like the calm before the storm.

I was working with a very shy white girl named Sarah. We had just finished reading over the essay and began working on the multiple choice questions attached when a fight broke out directly behind us. The two boys I sat next to apparently were assigned together and not very happy about it. The desks around them were moved and the people who occupied them did too. Mrs. Price ran to the hall to get someone to help break it up, it was getting violent real quick.

I was up and out of my seat just before the large black boy was thrown into it, but I wasn't quick enough to escape it completely. The white boy was making another go for him and unfortunately I got in the way, which resulted in him shoving me to the floor with a sneer; stupid bastard.

When he hit me, I was sent flying towards the floor, but not before the side of my face collided against the desk. I laid there for a minute trying to get rid of the stars I was seeing before being pulled up by Brenda and ushered towards the hall. A few teachers from next door managed to get through and break up the fight, half dragging the two who started it to the dean's office. I caught the eye of the white boy who shoved me and sent him a glare that could kill. Our class was lingering in the hall and slowly started to make their way back in while I was leaning against the lockers trying to regain my focus get rid of the stinging.

" Annie, are you ok?" asked a concerned Brenda. " Oh my gosh, the side of your face is starting to bruise!" she said while pushing back my hair to get a better look. I winced when she accidentally hit a tender spot on my cheek, pushing myself away from the locker as Mrs. Price came over to see what happened.

" Oh my, did that just happen dear?" she frantically asked trying to inspect my head. " Why don't you go to the nurse's office, maybe some ice will stop the bruising" she said ushering me down the hall. I walked in to the office and with one look to the nurse she got me an ice pack and insisted that I lay down on one of the cots.

" What happened?" she asked while wrapping up an ice pack in a paper towel and placing it on the side of my head.

"There was a fight in class, and I got in the crossfire" I said while readjusting the ice to the spots that hurt. " Is it really that bad?" I asked looking at her hoping it wasn't.

"Well….Umm…Why don't you see for yourself" she replied while handing me a small mirror. I sat up to examine my face, gasping at what it already looked like. My left temple was completely bruised and was sporting a nasty purple and blue color. It extended down and ended right under my left eye, I guess I hit the desk a lot harder than I thought I did. Brenda came in about five minutes later to bring me my bag while I was silently freaking out.

"Oh wow, that's a lot worse than before!" she said while handing over my bag; great response huh?

" Oh my god, my father is going to freak when he sees this!" I moaned, trying to think of ways that I could attempt to hide it.

"I would be more worried about what Julius is going to do if I were you" she replied taking the mirror away from me. I hadn't thought about that, but she was right; he was going to explode!

"Oh no, what am I going to do! I can't let him see this or he'll blow up" I said beginning to panic.

"Well, you still have a full period to figure out a way to make it less noticeable" she replied with a small smile, hoping to get me to feel better.

" More like ten minutes class will be over soon and I have math with Rev and Louie next!" I said after glancing at the clock.

" Maybe they won't notice?" she said, receiving a look of total disbelief from me.

"Alright so maybe they will, but maybe they won't tell Julius and then you can have more time" she offered. I attempted to roll my eyes, but the pain in my head stopped me from that, guess that's my punishment for being petulant.

"Yeah ok, like that'll really happen." I replied after standing up and heading over to the mirror. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and all but I doubt I could keep them from not telling Julius, especially Rev. Louie would flip out on his own but Rev would get concerned and make me feel bad for trying to keep it from them. I stood playing with my hair for a few minutes until I finally managed to get it to fall to where it was hiding a majority of the bruise, all that was left was the markings around my eye.

"Hey Brenda, do you carry any cover up on you?" I asked, her shade darker than mine, but if I used just a little it should cover it up enough so that no one would really notice. After applying a small amount of what she grabbed from her bag and readjusting headband she loaned me to keep my hair covering my left temple, the majority of the bruise virtually disappeared.

"Nice work, you can barely see it now" Replied Brenda after coming over to see my progress. " That should defiantly last until you get home, just try to keep your head down as much as you can and you may be able to pull this off."

Glad with my results, I grabbed my bag and returned the ice to the nurse just before the bell rang and began heading down the hall towards my last and final class. Brenda and I split up just before her classroom, planning on meeting in the library while the boys were in practice. I got to my last class and wandered over to where Louie had a seat waiting for me next to him and behind Rev just before the bell rang. After saying a quick hello I kept my head down, pretending I was doing something in my notebook, but not before I noticed that the boy Alan from lunch was also in this class.

Our teacher, Mr. Shay who looked every bit of what a geeky math teacher should look like, began class shortly after, handing out packets containing all our daily work. I looked up quick to grab a packet from Rev and nearly dropped them all when I saw him staring at my eye. Shooting him a questioning look I went back to my packet, inwardly groaning when I saw the extensive algebraic equation I was supposed to solve, and hoping that he hadn't seen anything.

After struggling through ten minutes of hell trying to solve the stupid problem, I finally got it feeling quite pleased with myself. After everyone had finished the problem, Mr. Shay showed us a shortcut to solve the problem that would have been nice to know BEFORE we worked on it. I heard Louie softly chuckle at my string of quiet insults I was throwing about the stupid class and its stupid shortcuts that would have been nice to know before the stupid problem.

The next thirty minutes dragged on _FOREVER_! I tuned out so much that I was positive that I was going to need an extensive date with my text book to even begin to understand our homework. Once the bell finally rang, I slowly packed up my stuff telling Louie and Rev to go ahead so I could try to avoid Julius for as long as possible. I left the room, going over all the homework that I had for the night walking past Alan, who was apparently waiting for me.

"Hey your, Annie, Julius's cousin right? I thought I should properly introduce myself" He said after grabbing my attention.

"Yeah I am, and you're…Alan, right?" I replied hoping that his name was actually Alan, I was never good with names after all. After gaining a nod of confirmation, we walked down the hallway in an awkward silence until he spoke up again.

"This probably isn't any of my business, but how did you get that bruise on your face?" I swear I froze in my steps, if he had seen it who else had?

"Oh it's no big deal, I fell in one of my classes" I replied settling for a mostly true statement. " I'm kind of I big klutz" I said attempting to laugh it off.

"Got it, to be honest so am I" he replied laughing in return. He seemed like a very sweet guy, a little too scrawny to be playing football though. Figuring Julius would probably be waiting for me by my locker, I managed to catch Alan again right before he was about to disappear into the locker room.

" Hey Alan, not that it's a big deal, but can you keep this between us?" I ask motioning to my face. "it's really not that bad but my cousin can get kind of protective, which is something I like to try and avoid" I finished, hoping that he would understand.

" I got it, no worries" he replied. " To be honest it's not that noticeably with your hair like that, I only noticed cause you were pulling at it" he said with a quick smile before disappearing into the locker room. I wandered back down the hallway and turned to find Julius standing against my locker just as suspected.

" Hey how was your day?" He asked while moving off to the side so I could get into my locker.

"Not that bad I suppose, I was right in my assumption that math would completely and utterly suck though" I replied shooting him a quick smile in response to his laugh. " But I have found a solution that will keep me alive"

"Oh really? And what would this solution be?" he questioned while taking my overtly large history and math book for me.

" I am simply not going to do the homework, and when a test rolls around I will beg and whine until someone takes mercy on me and helps me study" I replied with a grin, stuffing the last of my books in my bag.

"Let me know how that works out" he laughed as we made our way down the empty halls as I made sure that my hair still hid my left side.

"I'm going to meet Brenda in the library" I said after we got to the locker rooms. " Do you want to meet me in the parking lot?" I asked already making my way down the halls.

"No that's fine, I'll come get you when practice is over, come on by if ya'll get bored" he replied, disappearing into the locker room.

I met Brenda at a table in the back of the library and began working on homework. Skip to an hour and a half later and we had effectively struggled through our Spanish and I had managed to finish the history reading and packet. Switching out my history book for my math book I began to attempt some of the problems assigned. After reading and re-reading the examples on how to solve them I managed to finish two before slamming my book shut.

"I seriously don't get this stupid problem!" I said, startling Brenda out of her reverie.

"What's the matter?" she asked, grabbing for my notebook and looking over my work. " How did even get this answer?" she questioning trying to figure out where I started to go wrong. I was saved from trying to explain my process when Julius and Petey walked into the library to collect us for the night.

"Hey girls, you missed out on an exciting practice" said Petey while spinning a football around in his hands.

"Why's that Petey, did you actually do something today?" asked his twin with a quick laugh at his expense.

"Hahaha, oh my you are soooo funny" he replied shoving her lightly.

"To be honest all you missed was this fools poor attempt to do math" jeered Julius, explaining the 'how many feet in a mile' story, "Petey here ain't that great at keeping hold of the ball" He laughed, slapping him on the shoulder while Petey just rolled his eyes.

After grabbing our stuff and making our way out to the hall, fate threw me another blow and I found myself colliding with the floor for the third time that day; apparently me and the tiles have not had enough of each other.

"Oh god, Annie I'm sorry" he replied, grabbing all of my stuff off the floor while Julius helped me up. "I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm really…" he said before faltering, his eyes wide. I didn't realize what he was looking at until I realized my hair band had slipped leaving my left side completely exposed. I shot him a quick panicked look, trying to stop the words from coming out.

"Oh no! Did I do that?" he asked while I tried to wave him off.

" What are you talking about? There is nothing wrong" I ground out staring at him hoping he would get the point to shut up. My efforts were pointless though, the next thing I knew Julius had snapped to attention and rounded on us to see what was going on.

"What the hell happened to you?" He yelled while moving my hair away and turning on sunshine. "What did you do?"

"It's fine! I'm fine, it was just an accident" I said in as soothing of a voice as possible, I knew he would freak. I felt really bad for Sunshine though, he was still sputtering out apologies and thought it was his fault.

"Accident my ass! What type of accident leaves your entire face bruised?" He raged, effectively getting the attention of everyone in the halls. I looked back to Brenda in an attempt to get some help but she made sure to look everywhere but at me; my stupid cousin intimidates everyone.

I attempted to explain while trying to calm down Julius but every time I did either he would go off on another tangent, Sunshine would begin profusely apologizing again, or Petey would make some comment about how bad it looked which only cause Julius to get more upset.

" Alright everyone SHUT IT!" I yelled into the commotion, managing to shut everyone up. "Ok, first of all Sunshine no you didn't have anything to do with this so please stop apologizing," I begged, feeling slightly relieved when he began to visibly relax. " And second, Julius chill out. I promise it's not that bad, I just fell is all. You know how klutzy I can be" I said, settling for a half truth. I did fall after all, I just don't see the need to mention that I was pushed; the less Julius knows the better.

After he managed to cool down and Sunshine stopped feeling guilty we left the school, splitting up after we got to the parking lot. With a quick goodbye to Brenda I followed Julius to his car, silently laughing while I watched her scold Petey for not being able to keep his mouth shut and being insensitive. After ten minutes of an awkward silence we finally pulled up to my house and I jumped out of the car only to be stopped by Julius.

" Annie, meet me in front tomorrow again ok" He told me while leaning over the passenger seat. "All after all we don't want you to have any more accidents" he muttered as he drove away, not really sure whether I was supposed to hear it or not. I could tell he didn't believe me, I always sucked at lying to him after all, but that's a battle for another day.

I wandered into the house and made a bee-line for my room where I collapsed on my bed before discarding my bag on the floor. I decided a nap was in order and told myself that I would finish my math homework later. Today was the absolute definition of hell and until these stupid race wars ended it wouldn't get any better, and with that final thought I drifted off to sleep.

Hurray, I have officially updated! Remember to tell me what you think and review and a big shout out to all of you who haven't given up on me or this story, I thank you!

Peace out ya'll!


	10. First Game and a Fight

Hey everyone, thank you to all of you who have been reading this story and a big shout out to the people who reviewed my last chapter; you guys keep me going ! So without further ado, here is the next chapter; let's see what kind of trouble we can get them in today.

AN: I've got a lot of reviews about people not knowing who the love interest is, just to let you know I'm doing that on purpose, I don't want to give it away yet but never fear it will be revealed to you soon.

Disclaimer: I own nothing….still

_New York, New York 1989_

_Needless to say, Daddy had been a little more than upset once he got home that night. He was amazed that I had already gotten myself hurt within the first twenty-four hours of returning to school; I must say it was a new record even for me._ _To top it all off, my 'hide it and no one will know' theory went down the drain because not even twenty minutes after I had gotten home Louis was at my door wanting to know if I was ok, turns out a lot more people that I had hoped caught Julius's rant in the hall that afternoon._ _I ended up giving both him and Daddy the same story as I had Julius, although only Daddy believed me; Julius and Louie were another matter completely. I knew they didn't buy my story and that school the following day was going to be a new level of hell…_

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

"Seriously Julius? There is absolutely no need to be following me like this!" I had just come out of Spanish to find my adoring and exceedingly annoying cousin waiting for me as he had been doing all morning.

Julius was being exceptionally obnoxious today and had turned into my second shadow from the moment I walked onto campus. The morning was shaping up to be bad enough without him bothering me. I had managed to cover most of my bruise effectively with my own makeup that morning but it didn't really matter, between the episode in the halls yesterday and him following me around today it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on and pretty soon our entire little group knew. It was safe to say that I was not very happy with my cousin at the moment…

After waving farewell to Susan, I gave up and followed Julius to history class sending glares at the back of his head the entire way. I realized that I was acting immature but I found I really didn't care, after all I'm not a child and I don't need this much protecting. Walking into class and sending a quick hello to Coach Boone and a smile towards Louie I settled in my seat, and attempted to ignore the looks Julius was sending me.

"Alright what's the deal? Your cousin looks about ready to slap someone" Blue asked gaining Julius's attention.

"Annie's just a little upset with me right now" he replied while shooting me a look.

"Only because you're being extremely obnoxious!" I shot out sending him a glare before turning around in my desk and continuing to ignore him.

"Cut him a little slack, he's just trying to look after you" Lou replied gently from my side, soft enough so only I could hear.

"Well that's fine and all, but his attempt to look after me is getting on my nerves" I replied, saying the last part loud enough for Julius to hear. I heard Gerry snicker before Coach Boone called the class to attention. Making sure to keep my eyes on the board, I managed to get through the entire class without so much as a word from Julius, a small blessing since I honestly would have hit him and that would have been difficult to explain to the Coach.

I was up and out of my seat the second the bell rang, racing out towards the hall in an attempt to avoid my cousin. I heard Boone call the boys on the team over, something about the game that Saturday night, and I gave a silent sigh of relief. About damned time I got a moment to myself. I met up with Susan and Brenda at my locker before physics, giving me an opportunity to talk to them for the first time that morning.

"Alright so tell me, what's going on with you and your cousin?" Susan asked coming up to one side of me with Brenda on the other. I really am lucky that I managed to find someone in this school that not only I could be friends with, but someone who could be friends with my best friend too.

" I don't know, ever since yesterday he's barely let me out of his sight, to be honest it's actually quite annoying" I replied while hooking my arms with her and Brenda.

"You know why he's doing it don't you?" questioned Brenda shooting me a quick smirk.

"Oh I don't know…maybe because he's simply infuriating?" I replied while she and Susan giggled.

"No, he's doing it because he knows your lying to him" she said laughing at my grimace. "I heard him talking to Petey this mornin' before you got here, he was sayin' how he didn't believe that you just fell".

"Yeah well I'm not that surprised; I always sucked at lying to him. It's not like I had much choice though, what was I supposed to say 'oh yeah I got in the middle of a fight'? God he'd never let me out of his sight if I told him that"

"Well not to be the bearer of bad news, but he barely lets you out of your sight now" said Susan. Not even a minute after the words came out of her mouth, I caught sight of my darling cousin rounding the corner with his football buddies at the far end of the hall, and I was sent sprawling to the floor _again_. I could feel my temper flare, and right when I looked up to give whoever I collided into a piece of my mind, I fell silent realizing it was the same guy who pushed me yesterday.

"Try watching where you're going next time!" said Susan while Brenda stooped to help me off the floor.

"Its fine, not a big deal" I replied, I really didn't want to get into it with this guy. I don't know what it was, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way; besides the fact that he obtained a fascination with knocking me to the floor.

"Hey Annie you alright?" questioned Julius grabbing my arm and moving me slightly behind him, maybe I wasn't the only one who felt a weird vibe coming off the guy. I nodded yes, clutching my books a little tighter to my chest; this guy seriously hadn't taken his eyes off me since I got up.

"Hey Ray" said Gerry, slapping him on the shoulder effectively getting his attention off me.

"Hey man, let's get to class; we're gonna be late" he replied shooting Julius and Petey a look that had me hiding behind Julius a bit more, this guy was creeping me out.

"So who was that?" Brenda asked after they left, attempting to break the silence that fell over us.

"Ray…he plays on the football team" Petey replied after no indication that Julius would say anything. Ha! I was right when I thought he looked like a football player, although he seems a lot different from the boys I've already met and not in a good way either…

Lunch finally rolled around and my anger at Julius drastically defused. After that little run in with Ray I didn't object as much to having him around, the way he was looking at me really creeped me out. Retreating to our table outside I made my way over to my spot by Louie.

"So I heard you had a little run in with Ray today" I looked up at Louie and was slightly shocked at his dark expression. I felt Julius tense up beside me and caught Rev and Petey's quick look towards them both, maybe something had happened at camp; why else would they all be acting like this?

"So what's the deal with him?" I asked gaining the attention of the four. "With Ray I mean…is there something about him you don't like?" I laughed attempting to break up the silence.

"Ray's just a little difficult to get along with" said Rev gently with what seemed like a sad smile towards me before turning back to his lunch.

"Hard to get along with in what way?"

"Like in the way that he's not particularly fond of people like…well us…" replied Petey jumping into the conversation.

"Oh…got it…" I wasn't really sure what more I could say. Well, that will certainly make English class more interesting; sitting next to a racist…fun.

About ten minutes through lunch and I couldn't stand the silence anymore. No one was talking and everyone just seemed beat down. Attempting to escape, I decided to go attempt to study some in the library with Brenda and Susan, both of whom had decided to skip out on lunch and go straight there. They had decided to go to the game Saturday night and wanted to get their homework out of the way earlier.

"I'll see you guys later, I'm going to the library"

"Wait up, I'll go with you" said Rev grabbing his bag and standing up from the table. After saying a quick goodbye to everyone we made our way down the halls.

"So you're coming to the game tomorrow night right?" he asked once we were far enough from the crowds. People were absolutely horrible when it came to the races mixing. I had already gotten more than enough comments from girls about me talking to Brenda; I was kind of afraid what would happen if they saw me alone with one of the boys…I hated the way I looked at times like this. After all, I may have the features of my mother but I had inherited the complexion of my father, if anything I had more of an olive toned look than a mixed one. It sucked that I could barely be around my friends and family without having someone question my 'motives'.

"I don't know, I'm still thinking about it" I replied quietly. I barely understood the game, and it's not like I'd be hanging out with them anyway.

"Come on Annie, it'll be fun! Plus after the game we all were planning on going out."

"…I'll consider it…."

_**Game day #1**_

It was about an hour before the big game and I had been lounging around the house waiting for Louie. My plans were originally to sit around at home and listen to the game on the radio with the girls, but Julius and the boys had cornered me at the end of the day telling me I was going whether I liked it or not. I finally consented after ten minutes of arguing between me and Julius, not that I had much of a choice. With that settle we decided I would ride with Louie to the game, then after I would hang around the town with the girls and Julius would drive me home. About ten minutes later I heard the door bell and grabbed my coat before running out to meet my ride.

"So you ready for the first game?" I asked getting into his car.

"Ready as I'll ever be" he said tossing his gear in the back. "So do you remember anything I taught you about the game?"

"Nope, not a thing"

We got to the school in a record time and Louie ran ahead to the locker room. I think he was getting nervous about the game because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get him to talk and he kept tapping the steering wheel anxiously. I went up to the stands after giving him a big hug and a quick kiss on the cheek for luck, looking around to try and see if I could find anyone. I was surprised at how many people were already here, I could see the Harris's in the back and walking a little further in I saw my aunt and uncle sitting by the Jones's.

"Hey Uncle Charles" He looked up from his conversation with Mr. Jones and gave me a warm smile before scooting over and offering me the aisle seat.

"Hello Annie" greeted Mrs. Jones, returning my small smile. "Brenda should be up in a minute Honey, she was helping Petey with something before the game." Noticing her walk in the entrance I said a quick goodbye to our families before running off to the middle section of the stands, heading for the seat she saved in the front row. Once I got there I realized that Susan was already there too.

"Hey girls, ready for the game?" I asked filing into our aisle and dropping my bag by my feet.

"This is so exciting, I love football!" gushed Susan before plopping down beside me and turning her gaze to the now filling stands.

"The first game is always fun" added Brenda from the other side of me, "and don't worry, we'll be sure to explain whites going on for you" she giggled with Susan at my expense, I have great friends huh?

"Well that's good because I will definitely need it…which side are we supposed to be scoring at again?" They both laughed and pointed out which side I should keep my eyes on. I figured I may not understand the game or what they're doing, but if I follow the crowds' example and cheer when the ball gets to that side then I won't look too out of place. Looking out on the field I figured that we were probably in a really good place to view the game. We were the first row of bleachers in the stands and had the perfect view of the 50 yard line, with the player's bench directly in front of us. Maybe I'll be able to pick out Louie and Julius…

With five minutes to go before kick-off, the marching band was putting on a performance and the stands were stuffed to the brim with the exception of the aisle directly behind us. The three of us were getting some pretty dirty looks and I had caught my Uncle's worried gaze more than once, it probably would have been better to sit with them then by ourselves, but I doubt anything would help the situation at this point. Amazing that we all came here to support the same team, but can't bring ourselves to support each other.

Once the cheerleaders filed out on to the track and our opponent team the hawks were introduced, the Titans came running out on the field. Standing up with the crowds to cheer I searched the sea of players trying to remember what number Julius was…

The first half of the game flew by and we were only down by a few points, but the hawks' running back was killing us, or so Susan told me. Apparently Alan wasn't fast enough to stick with him and before we realized what happened Petey, who had already been taken out of the game by Boone, was put back in as a replacement for him. I heard a man start yelling at the coach to not take his boy out, which must have been Alan's dad; he was one intimidating looking dude. I also noticed a cute little blonde girl who had been pacing the stands for the past hour next to him, which must be Coach Yoast's daughter; she sure was a spitfire.

Turning back to the game, Petey had proven to be a much better defensive player than offensive. The other team didn't know what hit them, because next thing anyone knew we had scored the last touchdown and won the game. The cheering from team barely matched the three of us jumping around and screaming. I noticed a few of the boys looking up at us and laughing at our antics but I didn't care, we had won and I inherently decided that football was more interesting than I first imagined.

Following the crowds out Brenda went to go say goodbye to her family while Susan and I went to go find mine, deciding to meet back up by the school. I noticed my family heading to their car and ran up to say goodbye while dragging Susan behind me.

"Hey Auntie Hazel, Uncle Charles…this is my friend Susan I was telling you about" I said while introducing her to them.

"Well it's nice to meet you dear" smiled my Aunt while my Uncle nodded politely besides the car. "Now ya'll have fun tonight and enjoy yourselves, make sure you stay close by the boys and don't stay out too late" she fussed before Uncle Charles ushered her to the car, throwing a 'have fun' over his shoulder.

Meeting back up at the school with Brenda I decided that the boys take way too long, plus I was getting really bored. A few boys started trickling out, while I tried to remember if I had met any of them. I recognized Jerry Buck from lunch and threw a quick wave to him and Tyrece, whom I had been introduced to by Julius the last time he went to play ball in the burg. Waiting a few more minutes I saw Louie followed by Rev and ran over to give them my congratulations; which was basically me throwing myself at Lou and hoping he would catch me. Laughing at Lou's surprised grunt when he caught me, I put my feet back on the floor and turned to give Rev a slightly gentler yet just as enthusiastic one.

"You boys pulled it off, great game" they both looked away slightly embarrassed, a little pink rising to their cheeks. I wasn't sure if it was because they were being humble, or because of the pretty pink lipstick mark that now stained both of their cheeks. Giggling slightly I tried to wipe it off before any of the other boys came out. Julius, Rev, and Petey are all used to it by now, they know I'm a naturally affectionate person; still though, don't want the rest of the team thinking I'm a tramp.

"Annie, stop traumatizing the poor boys" laughed Brenda coming over with Susan in tow. "Now if you're done embarrassing these guys, maybe they can go hurry along our rides" she teased while wiping the last bit of lipstick that I missed off Rev's face while Brenda produced a tissue to help Lou.

After sending the two back into the fray the three of us stood around outside for a few more minutes until a lot of yelling and cheering could be heard coming down the halls.

"Well, here comes Petey"

"Oh joy, now we get to spend the entire evening attempting to deflate his ego" Brenda sighed while rolling her eyes at his antics. The doors to the school busted open with the sound of singing and out comes Rev and Lou followed by Petey, Sunshine, Blue, Alan, Gerry, and Julius.

Petey came over followed by Sunshine and Blue, twirling a football in his hands, "so I hear a couple of pretty ladies are looking for us" He said smiling in Susan and my direction. "Ya'll know its custom to congratulate the winner with a kiss right?"

"Oh well then in that case how could I say no?" I replied keeping my face in a mask of seriousness.

"Wait, really?"

"No." And with that I walked away, leaving him to the laughter of Sunshine and Blue. I felt kind of bad though, he seemed so excited for a minute.

"Congratulations on your big win Ju" I said giving him a hug and administering another kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, well we gonna head on out if ya'll are ready. Do you want to hang out with us or do you want us to drop you three off somewhere" he said while wiping off my lipstick; I really should avoid putting it on for game days.

Before we could answer Gerry piped up behind Julius "why don't ya'll hang out downtown with us?" a chorus of agreement met us and again, we found ourselves without much of a choice. So we all set off for downtown, splitting up into three little groups amongst ourselves. In the lead were Louie and Rev who had began discussing something about school with Susan, followed by Petey and Brenda accompanied by Blue and Sunshine, leaving Julius, Alan, Gerry and I to bring up the rear and Alan's spirits.

The poor guy was pretty upset about getting pulled out of the game. I guess he was real worried about what his dad was going to say once he got home. Petey carrying on about winning the game wasn't helping much either.

"Hey man, don't worry about them…they like to show off is all" responded Gerry to Alan's complaints while throwing an arm over his shoulder before Julius stopped in his tracks.

"Wait they…what do you mean they" He said getting real defensive really fast.

"Yes they, them up there" Gerry said pointing to the direction where the others were.

Julius managed to start up again before Gerry cut him off, both of them silencing when a car pulled up to the curb, the people inside calling to Gerry. While he was talking with whoever was in the car I went to talk to Julius.

"Ok what's your problem" I asked catching his eye and keeping my gaze locked on his "There is no reason to be getting all defensive, he didn't say anything to get you all riled up"

He just looked past me to where Gerry was returning to Alan's side looking every bit like a kicked puppy. "I don't know Ann; it's just harder to get along in a place where no one wants you together"

We made our way back over to Gerry, pulling Alan back from following a group of girls down the street when we heard Petey start yelling up ahead of us then storm past us.

"Let's go Julius" he said while storming past, Brenda pulling at his arm trying to get him to slow down and relax.

"What happened" I heard Julius ask while walking after him and Blue following yelling for Petey to cool down. Our little group began splitting itself up, and once again, race created the boundary lines. Susan joined me by my side and explained what had happened at the restaurant. I felt so bad for sunshine, he looked absolutely miserable.

"Come on Annie" Julius yelled from up ahead where he managed to catch up to Blue. I looked back at the second half of our group. Lou and Sunshine stood rooted to the ground while Alan was kicking at the ground and Gerry just gave me a sad smile before shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Come on Annie, we should go" sighed Rev. I couldn't just leave though, nor did I want to. I stood there torn between two sides; on one hand was Lou and Susan as well Gerry and Alan and Sunshine, but the other hand was my family…what choice did I have.

"It's alright Annie, you go ahead; I'll see you at school on Monday" she said giving me a sympathetic look.

"You sure? I'm real sorry about all this" I said trying to explain something even I didn't understand.

"Annie come on!" Julius yelled from somewhere up ahead.

"Just go Annie, its fine" Gerry added jumping in. With that I turned and walked away, turning back once to send them all an apologetic look before catching up to where Rev was waiting a few feet away. We caught up to the rest of the group and walked in silence, listening to Petey fume and Blue telling him to cool out.

"I know it's hard right now, especially for you. But it has to get better eventually" whispered Rev, low enough so no one else could hear. "Eventually we won't have these black/white conflicts, and neither will you." I kept my eyes on the ground, all the while questioning if he knew just how hard this really was….

AN: Ok people, so here is the next chapter, Hooray! Remember to read and review, let me know what you're thinking


	11. Time to Pick a Side

Hey Everyone! I'd like to give a big thank you to all the people who have been consistently reviewing my story, it really means a lot. I can't believe that it's been a full year since I started this story and that I've made it this far, I have all of you to thank! Anyway, on to our story!

Disclaimer: I own nothing….seriously, nothing…

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_New York, New York 1989_

_Race had been keeping the people of Alexandria apart for years and no matter how hard we tried it seemed like it always had the upper hand. That first night was when I saw what power it still had over people. The friendships the boys had formed at camp and the relationships we formed on our own were tested, and that incident at the restaurant wasn't the only task to overcome that night….._

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

We walked back home in silence, all of us feeling the awkward tension that filled the air. Petey was still fuming and no matter what anyone said we couldn't calm him down. I had no idea how strong of a bond this town still had on its people. The silence that surrounded us was so intense and held so many unasked questions, many of my own included.

"We should have known that nothing could change… "Petey said bitterly from up ahead grabbing all our attention again. "No matter what happens they are always gonna hate us here". Nothing but silence greeted him. I looked from Blue who shook his head to Brenda who kept her eyes on the ground.

"It will get better" replied Rev simply.

"I hope so..." I finished quietly.

That obviously wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Oh really? So what we just saw was this town getting better?" he asked incredulously before turning to me. " This town isn't going to change just because we want it to, and what are you worried about; looks like you fit in just fine without our help" My eyes widened with shock and shot up to search his face.

"What are you talking about?" He had never sounded so angry with me before, even the others were shocked.

"Seems like you're pretty comfortable with your new white buddies, what's wrong Leanna, afraid people may find out your like us?" His eyes darkened and he spoke with such ferocity, he's never been like this before. I felt the beginnings of tears start to prick the back of my eyes, how could he think that?

"Petey that's enough!" Brenda and Blue both jumped to my aid, Rev had an incredulous look on his face looking between me and Petey.

Julius was furious and was about to jump in before I cut him off. "How could you even think that? I'm here with you aren't I?" It hurt that he would accuse me of that. I had known them longer than I had anyone else; he was supposed to be my friend.

"Only because Julius and Rev made you! If you had a choice would you still be with us?" Whatever sadness I once felt was turned to fury.

"You are my friends, just like they are; and newsflash they're your friends too!"

"Yeah well, friends or not the town thinks it's time for us to start picking sides, including you"

"Petey enough man, you're upset and don't realize what you're saying" Rev jumped in attempting to be the voice of reason.

"I'm saying what she needs to hear!" He turned from Rev and pulled out of Blue's grasp to turn back to me, where Julius was staring him down from a spot at my side. "This town don't like us mixing and you're in a position that's gonna piss off a lot of people, so I suggest you pick a side and do it soon!"

With that he stormed off in the direction of his house with Brenda and Blue yelling after him, Rev shooting me the same look I gave Susan and the others before running off after Petey; so that's what it feels like…definitely not my favorite feeling. I stormed off in the opposite direction back towards my neighborhood and made it about a block before the tears I had been holding back began to fall. I heard Julius running to catch up behind me before he grabbed my arm and made me face him.

"Annie come on, look at me" he said keeping his hands on both my arms to keep me from running off. I had been keeping my head down and outright refused to look at him. I hated crying in front of people, even if that person was my cousin.

"I'm fine Julius…just let me go." I whispered trying to writhe my way out of his grip that seemed to just get tighter.

"I've heard that before" he replied trying to get a smile out of me. "Annie please look at me." I resented and finally looked up revealing my tearstained face. He engulfed me in a hug and let me cry quietly for a few minutes, he always had hated it when I cried.

"Listen…Petey's just upset right now, he didn't mean any of it" he said wiping off the few stray tears. "That being said, you still didn't deserve any of that, don't let it upset you."

I nodded and sniffled slightly before asking the question that's been bugging me since he ran after me. "Why didn't you go with them?" I asked looking up to see his response.

He merely turned and threw an arm over my shoulders before giving a simple reply. "Because you're my cousin, and no matter what happens I will always be on your side."

Daddy was already home by the time we made it to my house, and after a quick goodbye and a thank you, Daddy left to drive Julius home and I was left with my thoughts. I found myself on our back porch swing, looking up at the stars like I had been doing so often. Petey's words still rang in my head, and I quietly pondered if he might have been right. Just because the boys changed didn't mean the town would, how do we know that it would get any better? I lost myself in my thoughts and found myself being pulled back to reality by Louie.

"Hey, nice night huh?" he laughed looking up at the sky. I scoffed slightly and scooted over to make room for him on our swing.

"Everyone got home ok I hope?" I questioned attempting some sort of small talk.

"Yeah, we all went home pretty soon after you guys left and made sure Susan had a ride" he replied with a smile and not the slightest bit of animosity.

"That's good, so…are you mad at me for leaving?" I couldn't help but to ask. I never wanted to leave and I didn't want them to think that I liked the others over them, but I was just so torn I didn't know what to do.

"Of course I'm not mad at you" he said while giving me a one armed hug, "and neither is anyone else, they all understand so don't be worrying over it anymore" I smiled up at him for what felt like the first time that evening, he knew me too well.

"Well you guys might not be mad at me but Petey is" he looked down at me with a scrutinizing gaze and instinctively I turned my head away, wondering if he could tell that I had been crying.

"So, what happened after you guys left?" I told him of all the events of the night from us leaving them, to me and Petey's fight and his declaration that it was time for me to pick a side.

"He's just upset right now, you know he's never like that and I doubt he really expects you to pick a side" he replied trying to comfort me.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to" I said standing up and beginning to pace the porch. "I can't choose to be just black or just white; whether anyone likes it or not I'm apart of both worlds and unfortunately I don't fit very well into either of them." I finished sadly while plopping down on the stair and leaning against the railing.

"Annie there's nothing wrong with what or who you are" he said getting up and joining me on the stair. "You alone are proof the black and white can coexist and get along, that's why you're so special, you give us all hope."

"Thanks Lou." I reached over and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, he seriously was one of the best friends I could ever hope for; Petey used to be in that category too.

"Yeah well I aim to please, now what is this nonsense about not fitting in" so he did catch that. I took a few minutes before answering; to be honest even I didn't know what I was really talking about. Most of the time, especially when the race card is pulled and people have to join sides, it just feels like I'm falling, and no matter how hard I try to find some understanding about where my place is, something always overcomes me leaving me drowning within myself with nowhere to go.

"Well think about it Lou. I look more white than I do black so I can't be around my family or half my friends without causing some kind of commotion, but in doing that I'm repressing a whole side of myself." I looked up to make sure he was still following along and continued after receiving a nod to go on. "I don't fit into Julius's world because no one would accept me because I'm half white, and I don't fit into your world because no one likes that I'm half black, I don't fit in anywhere here."

"If you want my opinion, then I say that's completely stupid" I shot a look at him and smiled lightly once I saw the grin on his face. "You don't need to be anything but yourself to fit in, especially with us"

"That's easier said than done, I don't even know who I am anymore" I glanced back up at the sky and wondered when things had gotten so hard. Never before had I worried about who I was.

"Well that's easy, you're Leanna O'Connell"

"Thank you Captain Obvious"

"You didn't let me finish" I looked up and motioned for him to continue. "you are one of the smartest and strongest people I have ever had the honor of being friends with, you stand up for what you believe in and never back down until you get it, you are fiercely loyal to your friends and family and will do anything to keep them happy, you always say what's on your mind and protect those who need it. Your funny, passionate, witty, albeit slightly sarcastic and overall a truly amazing person."

"Louie….that's probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said about me."

"I mean it Annie, you're a great person and Petey realizes this"

"Thanks, and to be honest I get why he said it; he was upset and embarrassed about what happened" I looked out into the night and sighed. I may understand where the boy was coming from but I was still pissed at him; and that what he said might have been true.

"Want to know the sad thing about this whole situation?" I asked and looked back to him, "I think he may have been right about some of the things." He started shaking his head and was about to object before I cut him off and continued my explanation.

"Even if he was wrong in the way he said it he was still right" I took a shaky breathe and continued, laying out my thoughts. "I am in a position that's going to upset a lot of people, and that's why I've avoided telling anyone that me and Julius are related, if you think about it I have been afraid that people would find what I really am; that's not right no matter what way you spin it." Granted we had only been in school for two days, but in those two days I had avoid mentioning to anyone that Julius was my cousin. Susan found out on her own when I stopped Ju from getting in that fight and Julius had been the one to tell the boys. I was terrified that something would get out of hand and end up hurting someone, mainly Julius, just because of me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself had I been the cause of someone getting hurt.

"Annie what you are doing is completely different from being embarrassed of your family" he stated. "Like you said, you're in a position that not many people understand; what your doing is protecting yourself from ignorant people" I looked up at him with a sad smile.

"Yeah well, I wish I didn't have to…I'm sick of hiding just to please others"

"It will get better, you just gotta have faith and help us set the example" he said giving my hand a squeeze before getting up to go back to his house. I sat outside a few more minutes until I heard the phone inside. Getting up I wondered who would be calling this late before grabbing the phone and hauling myself up on the counter.

"Hello?"

"**Hey Annie…"** greeted Brenda's familiar voice from the other end of the phone. **" Listen, about tonight…I don't even know how to begin apologizing for my idiot brother's stupid behavior"** she rushed out.

"Don't worry about it… I get why he said what he did-"

"**It doesn't matter! What he said was uncalled for and completely disrespectful, especially towards you"** _you're telling me…_ **"I know you're probably really upset with us right now, but I really wanted to apologize. I feel awful for leaving you; I should've stayed instead of running off after my stupid brother…"**

"I'm not mad at you, not at all…can't say I'm too thrilled with your brother right now, but I'm definitely not mad at you or Blue or Rev." I replied honestly.

"**Really? Cause we would understand if you were…" **

"I'm not, you guys left for the same reason I left Susan and the others; and you followed Petey for the same reason Julius followed me… I'm not mad"

"**Well you're a better person than I am, and if it makes you feel any better Petey got whooped up on by Blue and me the entire way home all while listening to a sermon by Rev" **I smiled lightly at Brenda's giggle.

"I probably sound like a horrible person, but it kinda does" I giggled slightly at Brenda's laugh. We talked for a few more minutes and hung up after I heard Daddy come through the front door.

"Hey honey, Julius wanted to know if you wanted to go with him down to the burg tomorrow" he said as I ventured to the living room and plopped down on the couch besides him.

"I don't think I'll go, I kinda want to just hang around the house tomorrow"

"Does this have anything to do about the interesting night he told me about?" He said while smiling down at me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders; I should have known he wouldn't have kept his mouth shut.

"I just don't get this town Daddy; it was never this bad before was it?"

"Unfortunately princess it was; you and the kids were just too young to remember it" He said with a sad smile.

"What do you mean? I hung out with the boys all the time and no one said anything to me…"

"That's because we were more accepted in that side of town, we moved to your mother's area after you were born….we tried to find houses in other neighborhoods, but no one would sell to us." I looked up and scanned his face, slightly taken aback. "Your grandparents were the ones who found us our house in their neighborhood…it's the only place that would accept us, and that was only out of respect for them"

A part of me was shocked at this development, but thinking back it all made sense. When I was little, the schools were still segregated and for some reason the district decided that I should attend the white school because of Daddy. I hated that I had to go to a separate school away from Julius and my friends, and I always wondered why none of my friends from school lived anywhere near my part of town. Granted, once people figured out why I lived in that part of town I was treated like a pariah. No one at the white school except for a few individuals would talk to me, and looking back a lot of the black kids in our neighborhood only played with me when Julius, Petey, Jerry or Brenda were there.

I couldn't believe that I had missed all that; I guess I never cared to notice. I was always happy enough with my cousin and the select few who would play with me, plus my parents gave me a very sheltered life. I guess that I was never concerned with why I couldn't make many friends at my white school because I always knew that I could go home and be accepted by our little group, that they would always be there for me. Now though, now I'm not so sure I can count on that guarantee. I thought the integration would work itself out, and that people would be able to get over themselves enough to let it progress, but all it's managed to do was tear us further apart.

"…I'm worried Daddy…" I replied looking up at him. "I don't know how much longer I can go on doing all this, no matter what I do I feel like I'm betraying someone"

"I know its hard baby, and I am so proud of you for staying strong through all this, but there is no reason for you to do this alone" he said hugging me to him. "You have your friends and family with you and no matter what you will always have me"

I sat up for another hour or so after Dad had gone to bed. This was all turning into a bigger mess than I had ever wanted, but who's to say that it had to be? Maybe some people that I don't particularly care for would be unhappy, but so what? Just because they're ignorant and miserable doesn't mean that I have to be, and like Louie said 'we have to set the example'. Maybe I could help do that without having to pick a side…who knows….

Monday Morning, 6:00 a.m.

I had managed to elude both Julius and Rev for the remainder of the weekend, both of which had been calling to make sure I was ok after the incident Saturday night. I know they were just trying to check on me, but I didn't want to talk about it. I had finally gotten to a place I was ok with and even managed to talk myself down from planning on killing Petey when I got to school.

I dragged myself out of the shower and begrudgingly began getting ready for school. I really didn't want to go today. I changed into a simple light blue sundress and just finished throwing my hair up when the doorbell rang. Grabbing my bag and running down the stairs I got to the door to see Louie looking just as tired as I was.

"So you ready for another fun day of school?" He asked while grabbing my backpack from me and throwing it in the back of his car with his.

"Oh yeah, it's gonna be a blast" I replied with an equal amount of sarcasm while sliding into the passengers seat. I was on high alert when we got to the school, I was sure Julius and Jerry weren't too pleased with me brushing them off yesterday and I didn't want to get into it this early. Too bad I had first period with Rev; I hope that he wasn't too upset.

"Hey I'm going to go to class a little early today ok?" I gave him a quick hug before running off to my locker before home room. I still had a few problems left of my math homework, so maybe if I looked busy in class then no one would bother me, I don't mind talking to them but I know that they'll pressure me to talk to Petey like Lou had been doing. I got to class and finding the door still locked I took a seat on the floor against the wall. Pulling out my math book I began working on my remaining problems, finishing two before noticing someone sitting down at my side.

"So I heard you and Petey had a little fight" said Sunshine, pulling out his own math book and problems. Seriously, how do people find these things out?

"It was more him yelling than us fighting" I ground out, my temper flaring at the mention of him.

"You know he's really sorry right?" I looked over and he continued at my confused gaze. "He apologized this morning and explained what happened; he's been looking all over campus for you"

"Well I'm sure a few more hours won't kill him" I realized that I was probably coming off as a bitch, but I had yet to completely forgive him yet and wasn't sure if I wanted to make it easy on him.

"Annie you can't avoid him forever, and just for the record you can't avoid Julius and Rev either, they were looking for you too." He laughed as I shot him a look, it was seriously starting to bother me that everyone else seemed to have a grasp on my problems, yet I didn't.

"I don't plan on avoiding him; I just don't want to talk to him. Besides Julius knows where my classes are and we have class with Rev in ten minutes, I doubt I can avoid those two" I replied going back to my math homework. Brenda found us and had joined our little duo in the halls.

"There you are, you know everyone's looking for you right?" she asked laughing at my frustrated groan. Yes I know everyone is looking for me, why else would I be hiding? I'm kind of surprised they haven't found me yet; after all I told Lou where I was going.

"Just so you know, Petey spent all of yesterday holed up in his room, he felt absolutely terrible and is really sorry. I think he really wants to talk to you, that being said I still think he's a jerk and should you decide not to I would totally understand."

"Aren't you supposed to be on his side?" Sunshine asked from my other side.

"Not when he's wrong…or when I'm mad at him, and currently the situation calls for both." Our homeroom teacher finally opened the doors a few minutes later and we made our way to the seats in the back of the room. People began filing in and it wasn't long until Rev came through the door, looking slightly relieved while taking his seat. Class started before he had a chance to say anything and before long a note ended up on my desk.

**Hey,**

**We've been looking for you everywhere, **

**Where've you been hiding? **

I paused before writing down my answer, wondering if I should go with the truth or something that would get everyone off my back, deciding on the latter I gave a quick response before throwing the paper back on his desk.

**Oh, you were looking for me?**

**I didn't know, I haven't been anywhere in particular…**

I looked over and tried and failed to hide my smirk at his disbelieving look he shot me, at least he didn't seem mad. Mrs. Thorne was sending a glare around the room, commanding silence for the fifteen minutes we were stuck here giving me an excuse to not converse; that lady was seriously scary.

I had successfully managed to completely my remaining math problems and packed my books away just as the bell rang. The class emptied into the halls, Sunshine running ahead to make it to his class on time while Brenda and I were the last to leave. After splitting up I was headed to my next class only to be stopped by Rev's hand on my arm.

"Your not trying to avoid me are you Ms. O'Connell?" He asked giving my arm a playful nudge.

"Why Mr. Harris, would I ever do that…" too bad that's exactly what I had been doing. It's not anyone's fault in particular though, it's just what I do. When I'm confused or upset about something I like to be by myself, Daddy doesn't like when I do it though; he says it's like I'm shutting down to block off the world and that makes it hard for people to get through to me.

"I know you don't want to talk about Saturday, but Julius is really worried about you, and so is Petey" I scoffed and turned my head. Was it really so hard for people to drop it?

"Alright, alright… I get it; just promise me you'll try to talk to them?"

"I'll see Julius third, but why do I have to be the one to talk to Petey? If he's so concerned he can come find me" Again, I know I'm coming across as bitchy but I really didn't care. I had way too much on my mind for a Monday morning. I made it to Spanish only after I had promised Rev that I would consider talking to Petey…. I was in for a long day, and had a feeling it would get considerably worse….

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AN: ok so a nice long chapter for you all! Let me know what you all think, it really does help! The next chapter is already started and hopefully will be up soon. Coming up next we have school drama, friend drama, and a conflict Annie may need some help getting out of…. Fun times in the world of high school and football.


	12. I Don't Date Creeps

Hello Lovelies! Thanks to all my viewers and reviewers! Trust me; your reviews do a lot to keep me motivated, I'm glad to know that people are enjoying this story. So here is the next chapter, let's see what chaos will ensue today!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing but a lot of student loan debts

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_New York, New York 1989_

_I normally wasn't too fond of Mondays to begin with, but that particular Monday was the worst I've had in a while. I wanted nothing more than for it to end so I could go home to the peace and solitude of my house. The protesters were nearly gone due to the spectacular victory of the titans, but the animosity in the school remained. By the end of that day, my anger at Petey was gone; I had more pressing matters that need dealing with… _

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

I got to Spanish just as the bell rang smiling at Susan as I made my way to my seat. Our teacher wasn't there that day so after a quick reminder about our vocabulary test on Friday she gave us the period to use as a study hall. People got up and moved around the class to sit by their friends; Susan got up and filled in the seat next to me.

"Hey Susan, listen I'm so sorry about-"

"Annie we told you its fine. Really I understand completely" she said with a smile. "Next time it'll be better, we'll go somewhere else" she laughed as she got back to work on her vocabulary. She must have enjoyed herself at least a little before the night turned sour, which brought up an interesting question.

"Hey that reminds me, you seemed pretty comfortable with Louie and Rev, that wasn't your first time meeting them was it?" I had totally blanked and forgot to introduce her to everyone but Julius, yet she had seemed so easy around the two I guess I assumed she already knew them.

"Oh yeah, I have English with Rev and Gerry, they introduced themselves when they figured out I knew you. I have French with Louis and a few of the other boys too" that at least made me feel a little better; at least I didn't leave her completely high and dry.

"Yeah I'm sorry I forgot to introduce you to them on Saturday but a lot was going on"

"Tell me about it, and besides I know most of them already anyway…I think Petey is the only one I haven't been introduced to yet"

"Well consider yourself lucky"

"Are you two still in that fight?" I groaned and threw myself back into the chair. Seriously how did everyone know about it? Amazing how my business now involves half the people I know!

Deciding to suck it up and act like the big girl I am, I answered in hopes to get at least one person to drop it. "Whenever he decides to apologize for being a jerk then I will consider listening" I sighed before going back to my words, choosing to ignore the eye roll sent in my direction.

Forty minutes later and the bell finally rang, while I felt a little more confident that I wouldn't fail the first test of the class. Feeling pretty good I walked out and said goodbye to Susan before starting towards history class, meeting up with Julius who had been waiting down the hall.

"Where have you been?" he asked. One thing about Julius is that he never wastes time beating around the bush; he's always straight to the point.

"Ok I get that you guys are worried, and on one hand that's really sweet of you to be; but I'm a big girl now Julius" I said looking up at him. "We're not kids anymore; you don't have to look out for me"

"I know, I guess it's just hard to see you as anything but my baby cuz who I would have to defend from the bullies on the playground" he smirk while throwing an arm around my shoulders.

I looked up at Julius who was smiling down at me. It was endearing to see him being sentimental. "It's ok Ju, I don't mind too often."

History and physics had flown by and I was in a much more amiable mood. I even figured out that besides Susan I also had Leroy, another boy from the football team who would often play ball at the burg, in my physics class. The three of us were walking to lunch together, Susan and Leroy discussing one of the laws of motion we had just gone over in class when I realized I forgot my psychology book in my locker. Telling them both to go ahead and that I'd meet them in the lunch room I ran back to retrieve my forgotten book. After swapping materials and closing my locker door I jumped back in surprise to see Ray leaning against the wall next to me.

"Oh sorry, you s-startled me" I stuttered taking what I hope was an unnoticeable step back. Now it takes a lot to scare or unnerve me, but something about this guy just wasn't right. He took a second to look me over before responding; I didn't like the look in his eyes. They looked dark and seemed to be hiding a hidden purpose that contradicted the suave grin he had plastered on his face.

"Well then it's entirely my fault for startlin' you" he retorted, looking me over one last time before advancing a step that had me backing up into the lockers.

"I've seen you hanging around the football team a lot, especially that Julius character" a fleeting sneer grazed his face at the mention of my cousin. "Don't tell me a pretty thing like you is with him?"

His intentions were crystal clear at that point; I would have been offend had I not realized I just backed myself into a corner and silently began to panic. "Julius? Oh no we're not dating. I'm his-"

"Well that's good news, maybe now you can do me the honor of a date this Friday after the football game" he took another step closer and his eyes made him look more like a predator than a teenager.

"I'm sorry but I don't think so" He took another step closer as his dark eyes got darker and I pressed myself farther against the lockers, I had been creeped out before but this was getting my nerves on edge. I was silently hoping for a little assistance from anyone at that point when I heard a familiar voice ring through the now empty hall.

"What's going on here?" Looking to the right I saw Petey in the halls staring Ray down with a look that could freeze hell. I have never been happier to see him in all my life. I could feel any and all anger that I once had at him melting away.

"Petey hi!" I said, scrambling to his side after Ray took a step back.

"We were just talkin" He looked me over once more and Petey stepped slightly in front of me so I was now at a place behind his shoulder.

"Well if you'll excuse us we have to be somewhere" he replied glaring back at Ray before putting his arm around me and leading me away. We made it half way down the hall before I had the sensation that someone was watching us, turning my head slightly I saw that Ray was still standing there staring at us before he turned and walked away. I waited until we were out of eyesight before I threw my arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I rushed out. Ray was freaking me out and I'm not sure what I would have done had Petey not came along. "By the way we are totally and completely even now"

He laughed slightly before his face turned suddenly serious. "Listen Annie, I don't know what you got yourself into with Ray; but stay away from him, that boy is bad news" _yeah 'cause I didn't know that already._

"And for the record I really am sorry about everything, I had no right to fly off the handle at you…I was actually looking for you to tell you that"

"And I can't tell you how happy I am that you were" I replied giving him another hug. "And for the record, you're forgiven" He smiled happily down at me and gave me another brief hug before we broke apart to enter the cafeteria. We went straight to our table outside and I took my spot between Julius and Louie, waiting for the rest of the guys to fill in our table.

"So you guys finally made up I see" Alan mentioned from his place by Petey's side.

"Ok seriously, how does everyone know about that?" I asked looking from face to face.

"You can't hide much from us" he smirked from Peteys side.

"Plus this poor fools been running around campus all day looking for you" Blue piped in from beside Alan. I guess that's one of the hazards of knowing the football team, everyone knows your ordeals; oh well…better having them than nothing I guess.

An amiable peace fell over the team once again, except in the world of Julius and Gerry. I had noticed how they barely spoke to each other in history and now Gerry was sitting and the end of the second table instead of his normal place at Julius's side.

"So what's going on with you and Gerry?" I asked him quietly, noticing how he tensed up at the mention of his name. A minute passed and I assumed that he wasn't going to answer.

"I'll tell you later" now normally I would have pushed the subject, seeing as how I would have never gotten away with that lame excuse, but let it drop hearing the 'no argument' tone in his voice. It was getting towards the end of the period and I began looking around for Susan and couldn't find her anywhere. I was about to ask Brenda if she knew where she was until I caught sight of a certain figure by Gerry, none other than Ray of course. I immediately looked down, pretending to be interested in the cover of my notebook and when I snuck a peek towards him and saw his eyes locked on me.

"You ok Annie?" Rev asked from the other side of the table. I nodded yes before catching Petey's eye and shooting mine to where Ray was standing by Gerry. He looked back at me before Alan drew the attention of the table to him.

"Looks like Ray can't keep his eyes off you" He mentioned lightly with a look that reminded me a lot of a grimace; hmmm funny, I thought they were friends. As soon as his observation flew from him mouth Rev, Brenda, Louie, and Julius all snapped their heads up while I kept mine down.

"Yeah well, he needs to keep to himself" I mumbled lightly before risking a glance up.

"Did something happen?" asked Rev, a look of concern cross his face. "Did he do anything?"

"No he didn't, just asked if I wanted to go out after the game Friday" I assured them, shooting Petey a warning look when he opened his mouth.

"Wait he asked you out?" Brenda whispered quite loudly, not attempting to hide her look of disgust. "I thought you said he wasn't a fan of our kind" she said turning to her brother.

"I don't think he knows, he didn't know me and Julius were related anyway" I replied, keeping the other details to myself like the fact he thought I was dating Ju; yuck!

"Your not going out with him are you?" asked Julius who had been surprisingly quite so far.

"I wasn't planning on it" I replied. I thought we had just gone over the overprotective thing?

"Annie this isn't something for you to mess-"

"I just said I wasn't going out with him!" I nearly yelled. Why was I getting a sermon when I had already turned the guy down? "I imagine this will make English more interesting though…" I finished gently.

"Just let us know if he bothers you, we'll take care of it" Louie finished from my side, getting up at the bell. I wondered quietly what taking care of it would ensue. Julius had insisted that I meet him at my locker again at the end of the day and with that Rev, Brenda, and I all left to psychology.

After an hours' worth of Brenda kicking the back of my chair to get me to concentrate whenever the teacher looked towards where we were sitting, we packed up and headed towards English; Rev insisted on walking us to class. Taking a breath I headed towards my seat in the back beside Ray, who pounced on the subject of a date as soon as I sat down.

"So why won't you date me?" he asked, the alarming darkness returning to his eyes. I tried to think of an excuse, but all that was coming to mind was 'I don't date creeps' and I was sure that wouldn't go over well. I caught Brenda's gaze who was watching our entire encounter. I jumped slightly when I felt a hand brush against my knee and jerked it out of the way before rushing out a response that I prayed would work.

"I don't date"…._not the best reason_….

"What do you mean you don't date?" he asked incredulously.

"My daddy won't let me, not till I'm seventeen…" I lied easily, actually the rule was that I couldn't date till I was 16, and my sixteenth birthday was nine months ago; but what's the harm in adding another fake year if it gets a guy off your back? He withdrew his hand and shrunk back into his desk, but not before sending a glare towards Brenda. The rest of the class was spent going over sonnets to get us into our Shakespeare unit, and thankfully not another word was from Ray. The bell rang and I gathered my belongings, Ray 'accidently' brushing against me on his way out.

"So what did you tell him?" Brenda asked coming back to my seat.

"I told him my daddy didn't let me date" I giggled; I can't believe he bought it. We were met out in the halls by Louie who was currently staring down Ray, who walked away when I went to Lou's side.

"So I'm guessing you're here to walk us to class" I asked, giggling slightly when he insisted on taking both our books for us, he sure had the chivalry thing down. We dropped Brenda off in her science class and made it to math just in time. Settling in my seat behind Rev I began to search for my homework, pulling out the crumpled and folded piece of paper from the bottom of my bag. Jerry turned around looking over the mess that was my homework and gave me a look that clearly stated 'what happened to it' when we were asked to hand up our answers.

"Hey at least I did it!' I whispered indignantly, narrowing my eyes at the snicker coming from Alan.

We finished taking notes early and were told to start our homework for the night, either Rev or Alan turning around every once in a while to aid me when I started to growl in frustration; I swear math is a torture tactic not a subject! Once class finally finished I walked with the boys to the locker room before going to get my stuff from my locker. I met Julius there as promised and made my way to the library where I had assumed I was meeting the girls; Susan had agreed to stay with us after practice to keep us company.

Petey stopped me in the hall and mentioned that they were going to go watch practice today and told me to meet them in the stands. I made my way out across the parking lot and to the field where the coaches were already setting up and noticed Brenda and Susan speaking with Boone, walking up to hear the last bit of the conversation.

"I don't see why you girls can't watch; just make sure you stay in the stands" Replied Coach Boone, sending a rare smile towards our little trio. That man was easily turning into one of my favorite teachers. After thanking him we made our way up to the top of the stands.

"So why are we watching their practice?" I asked while taking a seat on the bleachers and pulling out my history homework.

"It's nice out today, and plus I've been wanting to check out what their practices are like" Susan told me and Brenda. We sat there watching the football practice and turned our attention briefly to the cheerleaders who were practicing on the farther end of the field.

"You know, I've always wanted to be a cheerleader" Brenda said, turning her attention back to the boys.

"Really? Well, why didn't you try out?" I asked, taking my eyes off the field and turning back to where the cheerleaders were warming up.

"I don't know, I went to the try outs a couple of times but always ended up backing out"

"That's too bad, I think you'd be good at it" I told her, turning my attention back to my history book in an attempt to get something done; I really should've just given up. Every time I tried to go back to my work something would grab my attention or I would get the weird feeling that I was being watched again. After practice finally ended we packed up our things and went down to the locker rooms to wait for the boys. Susan had left already and Brenda ran back into the school to grab a jacket that she forgot, leaving just me waiting outside the gym. I got the weird feeling of being watched again and turned around to find Ray standing a few feet away. He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the bleachers officially moving me from freaked out to scared as hell.

"I don't get you, you say you can't date but then go off with the rest of the football team" he smirked; tightening the grip he had on my upper arm and making me wince. "What do those colored boys got that I don't?" I felt my anger start bubbling to the surface behind my fear. Now, when it comes to fights, I usually know my limits of what I could handle and Ray was way beyond those limits. He was easily twice my size in both height and weight if not more so, and I knew they was no way in hell I could take him. That being said, I may know my limits but there are times I don't always follow them, and now was one of those times. I don't care who you are, you don't have the right to lay a hand on me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I shot out attempting to pull my arm from his grasp only to have him tighten his grip more.

"I saw you caring on with them, god knows it's not giving you a good reputation" he shot out.

"My reputation is none of your concern!" His grip on me tightened more, making me gasp at the pain shooting threw my arm.

"Maybe I want it to be…" he replied leaning closer. I step back as far as his reach would let me before slapping him hard enough to leave my hand burning and stinging. I reared back and was about to hit him again but he caught my wrist in his grasp, closing his hand around it tight enough to make me yelp. Now with both my arms caught, my fury quickly reverted back to fear. He opened his mouth to say something when the doors to the gym burst open. Startled by the interruption he released me roughly and disappeared out the side exit leaving me shaking.

Taking a deep breath I ran out the front exit before whoever had come out of the gym had time to see me, running until I reached Julius's car. Leaning against the hood I tried to steady my nerves before my cousin came. The smart thing to do would be to tell him what just happened and what happened earlier today, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I'm not sure if it was my pride refusing to let me ask for help or embarrassment because I didn't know how to handle the situation but one thing was for sure, no one was going to find out about this. Besides, Julius would've killed him had I said anything anyway.

I began to relax, telling myself that it would be ok and that I could handle it. I saw my cousin and a few others head my way and taking one more deep breathe I hoped that Ray would find a new plaything to capture his interest soon…

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AN: Ok everyone, so we have a little drama in this chapter! Tune in next time for our next football game and the revelation of a few secrets!

(P.S. I'm really sorry if any of you out there really like Ray, but I couldn't bring myself to write him any other way. He always provided the perfect tough guy jerk persona and I couldn't pass that up. I hope this doesn't stop any of you from reading it.)

Please Review and tell me what you think, they motivate me more than you could ever know.

Peace out everyone!


	13. You're the Captain

Hello! OK so this chapter was supposed to be out a week ago, but I hit some dead ends that had to be roughed out. Another huge shout out to my readers and reviewers, you guys keep me going more than you realize. On to the story!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing….sigh….

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_New York, New York 1989_

_After that encounter I realized how afraid of Ray I really was, which scared me more. I couldn't remember the last time I had been afraid of someone, and to know that he could physically overpower me and had every intention of doing so terrified me. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone, I had been adamant that I could handle the situation on my own, turns out I was wrong…_

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

I slid into the passengers' seat of Julius's car after he said his goodbyes. My wrist was sore and my arm was hurting, all I wanted to do was go home. We sat in silence for a few minutes until I braved breaking the silence with my previous question from lunch.

"So what's going on between you and Gerry?" I asked again, watching his grip tighten on the steering wheel before giving out a clipped answer.

"Guess he's not who I thought he was" His hard expression was focused on the road and I was totally confused, Gerry seemed civil enough in school.

"What does that mean?" He looked over to me before explaining how Gerry had apparently stood him up at the burg on Sunday.

"Guess Bertier's just a lot of talk" He sighed turning his eyes back on the road. To anyone who didn't know Julius better, you would just assume he was pissed at the guy; I on the other hand knew better. Little known fact about my cousin; he doesn't make friends easily. I think that's why he was upset, he took a chance when making friends with Gerry and so far it's done nothing but cause trouble.

"Ju I'm sure there's a good explanation. Did you talk to him about it?" I asked him gently. I may have had my doubts before, but I think Gerry really is a good guy. I think it would do Julius a lot of good to hang around with him too. Ever since I got back I realized that Julius has a lot of anger in him, he needs someone that will keep him in check and can balance him out and I felt Gerry could do this. Don't get me wrong, his friends now are great, but I don't think they have the ability to do what Gerry could. Jerry and Petey understand him and have been best friends for as long as I can remember and know how to calm him and all, but Petey tends to run from conflict and Jerry won't push back. Julius needs someone who has just as much aggression as he does, but won't be intimidated by him and isn't afraid to get in his face and fight back if need be.

"There's nothing to talk about" His features in his face hardened as he once again turned back to the road. "This is the way it has to be"

"…Julius…" I stopped myself and just turned to look out the window. If he wasn't willing to try to make it work, then nothing I would say could change his mind. I slumped back in my seat and starred out at the town flying by, I found myself wondering what the point was of forcing these people together when it seemed neither side was willing to give.

We pulled up to the front of my house and left after asking Julius to talk to Gerry one last time, all that met me was silence. Walking up the drive I noticed Dad was actually home and wasn't sure if I was thrilled or concerned about this. I had so much on my mind and Daddy was always a great listener, but I knew I couldn't tell him most of what was going on. Sure I could tell him about Julius and how much I was slowly starting to hate school, but anything dealing with how to handle my problem with Ray would have to be kept to myself.

After dropping my bag in my room, I went down to his office and plopped myself into the chair across from his desk placing my head on my arms. I figured that I may not be able to tell him everything, but he could help me figure out some of my problems leaving me with more time to deal with my Ray situation.

"So I take it you had a bad day?" he asked looking up from his notebook covered with illegible scribbling.

"I don't think _bad_ could cover what today was" I told him, my voice slightly muffled from where my head was buried in my arms.

"Alright, what happened? Are you and Petey still fighting?" He asked closing the files scattered around his desk before giving me his full attention.

"No actually, we made up. I guess I'm just mad at how stupid people seem to be" I sighed and slouched against the back of the chair. "Sure the protesters are nearly gone, but the inside is as bad as ever."

I had thought that after the amazing win on Saturday, the Titans would be able to show the school that it is possible to pull together. If anything the students tried to pull apart more. They segregated themselves in the classrooms and hallways, and made sure that anyone who crossed the boundaries knew it was unacceptable. People were shameless, turning against one another because of something as trivial as race, saying things that were completely uncalled for in a polite society. Earlier today one particularly nasty girl had called me an array of colorful terms, mostly some deviation of 'whore', just because Blue and Leroy had walked me to physics.

"Well honey you knew it wasn't going to be easy" he sighed and gave me a sad smile. " It's not fair to ask you kids to deal with a situation that's going to take years to fix, but you guys can't give up. There are a lot of people that have been stuck in their ways for so long they just don't know how to change, that's why you kids need to set the example for what the future will be like" he finished, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Well that's good and all, but it's impossible to do so if no one wants to set the example"

"They just don't know what to do, that's why the people who are willing to accept the change need to show them how" he said sending a knowing smile my way. I knew he was right, but I hated that he had to be; this all seemed way too complicated even for high school.

I spent the rest of the night doing my homework and trying to figure out what to do. The people at school are still too new to the idea of integration to try something drastic or dramatic and without the football team I doubt anything would get done. They are the ones in this town who have managed to bypass the racial boundaries and come together, but even they are starting to pull apart….

I woke up early the next morning and stood at my closet for close to fifteen minutes trying to decide what to wear. Ray had been rougher than I thought yesterday and ended up leaving a bruise, so something with sleeves was in order. I was pissed when I woke up to find a hand shaped mark adorning my upper arm as well as one on my wrist, the one he gave me the first day of school had just faded enough for no one to notice.

Picking out a black top with sleeves coming down to my elbows and a black and white plaid skirt, I quickly showered and changed applying a little makeup along the way to hide what remained on my face. Looking down at my wrist and examining the black and blue coloration along the side I quickly threw on a few bracelets, effectively hiding what was there.

School passed in a similar fashion to the day before. The team was beginning to break apart and no one could pull it back together. During class the boys stayed to themselves and no one spoke to each other, racial tensions splitting the team in half. By the time lunch rolled around the boys still sat by one another, but now one of the two tables held the white players and the other table held the black players. I was tempted to skip out on lunch and avoid it all together but I had been successfully dodging Ray all day and didn't want to risk it.

Walking to the back patio and looking between the two tables I could feel my heart breaking. My cousin was at one end and Gerry was at the complete opposite. All of the players had filled in next to them, and even Alan had abandoned his spot by Blue for one by Gerry, looking as miserable as the rest of them did. Sunshine and Louie were seated at the conjunction of the two tables, Rev and Blue sitting next to them. Those guys were trying so hard to make something come of all of this but nothing they did was helping.

Noticing Susan at her spot under the tree I walked past the table, Brenda getting up to follow me, opting to sit away from the boys today. I was still a little miffed at my cousin about how flippant he was being about all this. Smiling at Susan, we sat down in the grass under the shade of the tree, enjoying the comfortable silence compared to the uncomfortable tension surrounding the rest of the school.

"Is it just me or does everything seem to be getting worse?" Brenda asked, switching so she was lying on her stomach.

"No, it really is getting worse" I replied from my spot against the tree trunk. "I guess we just have to find a way to deal with it, not much else we can do…"

"I knew this was going to be hard, but I wasn't expecting all of this" Susan sighed, lying back on the grass.

"This is our welcome to the real world I guess" I finished, looking sadly over at the boys before turning to the math book that I had pulled out of my bag.

By the time English had rolled around I had managed to come up with a decent plan about how to avoid Ray. Faking sick during the end of Psychology I managed to put on a decent performance that left both Brenda and Rev insisting that I go to the nurse during English. After a quick stop by class I grabbed a pass from my still skittish teacher and was escorted by Rev to the nurse despite my insistence that it was unnecessary.

Walking into the office I was ushered to a cot before Jerry ran off to his class. I told the nurse that I was feeling faint and she insisted that I lay down for the period, easily getting me out of the remainder of class. That was one trick I learned a while ago, if you tell a nurse you're faint or dizzy then they'll leave you alone.

I left the nurse after English was over and begrudgingly made my way to Math. I was relatively pleased at how I had handled my Ray problem today, but I knew I would have to come up another plan soon. I couldn't keep ditching out on English or someone would eventually figure out what was going on.

I walked into class just as the bell rang and settled into my desk, barely listening to the lecture given. My notes turned more into scribbles and doodles and I was pretty sure I was screwed when it came to the homework for the night, but I really didn't care. I was so tired all of a sudden and really just wanted to go home. The boys usually had a half hour break before football practice started so I could probably get Julius or Louie or someone to take me home, especially after my decently convincing performance this afternoon.

Just as I had hoped, Louie offered to drive me home before his practice. I guess Brenda told him I was sick when he came to collect us from class. Packing up my stuff and waving a farewell to the boys we made a quick stop at his locker before going to mine. We were making our way to the parking lot when we noticed Julius and Blue waving us over from Leroy's car.

"Hey where ya'll going?" asked Julius from his spot on the hood of the car.

"I'm not feeling too well so I was gonna go home" I told him quietly, hoping he wouldn't call me out. "Louie said he could drive me"

"Thanks man" he said looking away from me and nodding in his direction. I noticed a few other boys making their way to the field, including Gerry and Sunshine, and was about to ask Julius if he had talked to Bertier yet until I noticed Ray was with them.

"We should probably go, can't have you being late" I said, quickly looking away and starting towards his car. We made it back to my house leaving Lou plenty of time to get back to the school, leaving me to the silence of my house. It wasn't long until I had passed out on my bed, waking later that night to eat and finish what little homework I had before returning to bed. I think Daddy suspected that something was wrong, because every so often I could hear him pause outside my door before continuing down the hall. He hates it when I won't tell him what's going on, but he always gives me my space when he knows I need it.

The rest of the week progressed at the same rate, and the boys were drawing more apart and even I found myself avoiding people more and more. I stayed away from Julius and most of the football team, opting to spend more time by myself or with the girls. I noticed the worried looks but couldn't help but to draw into myself more. Ray had been getting bolder and I was running out of options. I had already skipped two and a half English classes, and the other two were spent trying to ignore his advances and 'accidental' touches. I did all I could to make sure I didn't run into him while I was alone in the halls and refused to acknowledge him in class in an attempt to wait out this fascination he had for me.

I was starting to get really worried. Between his leering at practice, touches in class, and cornering me in the hallway, my anxiety was skyrocketing. I was terrified that the next time I ran into him, there wouldn't be another interruption to get him to stop. Even with all the precautions I was taking I still had a few close calls, one particularly close one on Thursday afternoon.

I had forgotten a book in my locker again, and when I doubled back to get it Ray had met me there, grabbing my arm and tossing my back against the wall when I tried to walk away. He asked again about Friday, his eye's darkened and grip tightened when I said no again. He finally left me alone and let me go when talking was heard coming down the halls. He disappeared around the corner just as Louie and Blue appeared at the opposite end, leaving me close to tears and pressed against my locker. Lou had been close to panic at seeing me like that and immediately took me to the nurse after I told him I was just dizzy. Blue had run back to the lunch room and less than ten minutes later Julius was storming into the office demanding to see if I was fine. I couldn't bring myself to look at him when I gave him my excuses, but it didn't matter; based on the look he was giving me I knew he didn't believe me, but he sat with me anyway and stayed for the remainder of lunch.

After what seemed like an eternity, Friday afternoon finally arrived and the normal game day mentality was replaced with an uncomfortable solemnity. The team looked beaten down and I was seriously concerned about what kind of performance they were going to be able to deliver. It had been a bad week and the boys were receiving the brunt of it, and as much as I wanted to go to support them I had concerns of my own to handle, all of them going by the name Ray. By the end of the day Brenda and Susan had begged, bartered, and commanded that I go with them until it all ended in a group free for all before we had left the parking lot.

"Annie you have to go and that's that!" Petey told me, shrinking back slightly at the withering glare I was sending him.

"Guys come on, I haven't felt well all week, I really want to relax tonight" I whined, ignoring the stare Julius was currently sending me, he knew something was wrong with me, but he also knew sickness wasn't it.

"Come on Annie, you've barely hung out with us this week" begged Brenda, getting a nod of confirmation from Susan. "Just one night, we can leave early if you start not feeling well"

"We really could use the support tonight" Rev said from where he was leaning against the door of his car. I didn't think that it was fair that they all decided to team up against me; that has to be constituted as cheating.

"Alright, alright. You win, I'll go" I relented; climbing into Julius' car after agreeing on a time we would meet. The ride home was silent, the same as it had been for the past week. I was about to get out when Julius shot an arm out to stop me, I had to repress the wince when he grabbed a particularly sensitive part of the bruise Ray gave me. I was honestly surprised at how well I had been able to hide them and didn't want to give myself away now.

"Ann I don't know what the hell has been going on with you lately, but something's up and I'm not the only one who realizes it" He started, gently pulling me back into the car. "Come on Annie, you know you can always talk to me…what's going on with you?"

"Julius nothing is going on, I'm fine" I replied, keeping my eyes trained on a spot behind his head.

"Don't give me that, I know better! You've been avoiding all of us, Brenda and Susan included" he tried to get me to look at him, but I couldn't. I knew if I tried I would end up blurting out everything.

"I haven't been avoiding you… I've just been busy…" I replied, lowering my eyes to where my hands were folded in my lap.

"Come on Annie, I'm just trying to help you. Don't shut us out, you worry us when you do that" he sighed, releasing my arm and allowing me to finally get out. I hated when he did that! He had no problem making me feel guilty that I don't talk about my problems, but the second he has one the situation turns too complicated to talk about.

Dropping my bag at the door, I sighed at how this week had turned out and made my way over to the phone to call my dad. Brenda and Susan had suggested that we do a girls night complete with a sleepover, and my father was super anal when it came to me to staying anywhere he was unfamiliar with. After giving him the basics and leaving a list of phone numbers on the counter I trudged upstairs to pack an overnight bag when an idea struck me.

When the boys were at camp, they were avoiding each other and having trouble coming together at first too. It was only when the two leaders broke down did the others following. Now that they're having trouble coming together again, maybe it can be fixed the same way. Maybe if Julius and Gerry can find a way to get over themselves again, then the rest of the team will follow suit. I've already tried talking to Julius with no avail, but Gerry, maybe all he needs is a little push in the right direction…

Louie came to get me that night at six, causing us to rush so he could gear up in time for Boone's pep talk and warm up. I however had followed him from the parking lot; after all I had a little pep talk I had to give too.

"OK so don't let the other team get in your head; you guys have had a rough enough week without all of them" I rushed out giving him one last hug. "Alright, well have fun and enjoy yourself and… I don't know, hit a lot of people… or do something of that nature" I finished lamely, smiling his laugh; I knew I could get him to smile at least once.

I waited outside the locker room for a few more minutes, ignoring the strange looks I was getting from a lot of the guys and hoping they wouldn't tell Julius I was out here. He would be pissed if he figured out what I was up too. I saw Gerry round the corner and quickly pulled him aside and down the opposite hall.

"Alright listen Bertier, something has to give here. The team is falling apart at the seams, and it won't be too long until it's proven by the scoreboard" I rushed out, glancing around the halls.

"What do you expect me to do about it?" he questioned, looking slightly taken aback by my forward approach.

"Well you're the captain right?" I asked receiving a slow nod in confirmation. "As captain it's your job to find a way to pull them together. This is _your_ team Gerry, are you honestly happy just sitting back and watching it fall apart?"

"Of course I'm not! But what do you expect me to do when no one else is willing to compromise?" I was ninety-nine percent sure that was a direct shot against my cousin, but I had to pick my battles at this point.

"Then make them compromise, but you gotten show them how" I told him searching his eye's for some sign that he was getting what I was saying. "_You_ have to prove to them that it's possible, _you_ have to set the example"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Talk to Julius-"He cut me off with a scoff and I could tell he was getting upset.

"Why should I talk to him? I'm not the one with the problem, he is!" He yelled back, but I couldn't back down, not yet anyway. "Listen, I get that he's your cousin and your trying to help him but-"

"That's not why I'm doing this Gerry! Yes he's my cousin, and it sucks to see him upset, but it's worse when it's between him and someone I consider a friend, plus it's pulling a lot of people down with you" He took a step back and I could see his face soften drastically.

"I consider you a friend Gerry, you and most of the other players on the team, but everyone who says they don't want us to be together is going to win unless we show them that nothing they can do will change us" I told him gently.

"Alright alright, but how are we supposed to prove anything?"

"Just talk to Julius, just try to at least" I said with a small smile. "You gotta take the first step captain, my cousin can be a stubborn jackass most of the time, but he does listen to reason" With that I left, hoping that he would take our little chat to heart.

We were half way through the game and the guys, well to be honest they sucked. They were fumbling and were getting tackled left and right. As much as I had hoped something would come of my little talk with Gerry he seemed just as distant as before, but at least I can say I tried. I caught the eye of Rev every once in a while and shot a hopefully encouraging smile toward him. The guys were playing with no heart and he knew it, I hope this was just a one game occurrence.

The final play was made and the titans had barely managed to pull off another win, but I had no idea how. Most of the guys retreated back to their respective houses to nurse their wounds, but for Susan, Brenda and I the night had just began. I was surprisingly feeling a little better. I had tried to help Julius even though he wouldn't help himself, and hopefully Gerry hadn't completely disregarded my little pep talk; and yes I knew I was being hypocritically, but my situation was a little more complex than I cared to admit at the point.

We were currently lounging in Susan's room playing a rousing game of truth or dare, which quickly turned into truth or truth. It was amazing what you're willing to share with others when they are willing to share with you. Thank god we didn't do this at Brenda's house; otherwise Petey would be in here every few seconds.

"So, have you guys gotten homecoming dates yet?" Asked Susan who was flipping through her record collection. I had totally forgotten about homecoming to be honest, but most people don't start asking until the week before.

"Ha! Yeah cause Petey would let a guy within ten feet from me" Brenda mumbled from her spot across the foot of the bed.

"I had forgotten about homecoming with everything going on" I replied. "To be honest I'm kind of surprised they're still having one"

"Well what about you Susan has anyone asked you yet?" Her face turned red as she mumbled out a quick no and turned back to her records, I definitely know that look.

"Well do you have anyone you would like to ask you?" I giggled sitting up. "The dance is next Saturday after all." Her red face turned brighter as she mumbled something and gave a shrug. We immediately jumped on the chance, badgering her until she finally broke.

"I don't even know if he'd like me! He's more out there, and kind of popular, and athletic, and he probably thinks we're just friends and it be weird if it did work out, plus I'm not even sure it's allowed here…" she finished before Brenda shot me a confused look and a few pieces popped in place. I don't know how I didn't see it before. I've noticed her glancing at him quite a bit during lunch when she doesn't think anyone is watching and during practice her eyes barely leave him. Loud, exuberant, athletic, popular…she likes Petey. I kept my mouth shut for the time being, I'm not sure if this is the right time to share this piece of news, and I'm sure Susan doesn't want too many people to know either, especially his twin.

"OK, well what about you Brenda" I said trying to get the attention off Susan for a minute.

"Why do I have to go next, what about you?" she narrowed her eyes trying to catch me lying.

"Because I don't even plan on attending" I told her with a grimace before her and Susan flipped like I suspected. "I'm not even sure if I could, my grandparents were talking about planning on coming for a visit next weekend" They both stopped and shot me a sympathetic glance. My grandparents had called Daddy earlier and told him they were planning coming up, and should they choose to, me going to a dance would not be in the cards. Daddy would let me go if I told him I wanted to and deal with them on his own, but I wouldn't do that to him. If they found out I was at an integrated dance they would freak and give my father absolute hell.

"Do you mind me asking you something personal?" Susan piped up when we had fallen into a silence. I nodded and she took a second to look me over trying to word her question "What's up with you and Ray?"

I sighed and unconsciously began rubbing my wrist. "Nothing's going on, he's just not too pleased that I turned him down" I said, flipping so I was lying on my back. I heard a gasp and looked over to where Brenda was looking at where my shirt sleeve had shifted up, revealing the now healing bruise. They coloration had turned into a yellowish brown, but it still showed a clear impression of a hand. She looked from me to my arm as I scrambled up and jerked my sleeve back down, rubbing more at my wrist while silently chastising myself for getting caught.

"What the hell happened?" she whispered grabbing at my sleeve and pulling it up before I could move out of her way to show Susan. "Annie it looks like a handprint!" Damn! I was hoping she didn't see what it looked like, maybe then I could've passed it off as nothing.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it" I said moving off to the side of the bed and away from their eyes.

"Annie that ain't nothing!" She cried getting up to follow me "Wait a second…did Ray do that to you?" I whipped my head up, my eyes wide. "I knew it; I knew something was up with him! That's why you've been skipping English!"

"Annie have you told Julius?" Susan asked from my side.

"NO! No, and he's not going to find out either!" I said glaring from both Susan and Brenda, cutting Brenda off when she was about to protest "You know what Julius would do if he found out! Just trust me, he'll get tired of me and go bother someone else, but until then no one can know, I can handle it"

"And what happens when he doesn't get bored?" Susan asked, worry etched across her face. "Annie what happens if next time he doesn't stop at just giving you a bruise?"

"Don't worry; I'll let someone know before it gets that bad"

"It's already that bad Annie! If you won't tell Julius, then maybe you can talk to Boone or Yoast, they'll know what to do" Brenda begged, this is exactly why I didn't want anyone to find out, now I have everyone all worried.

"Don't worry, I promise I'll take care of it ok?" I replied trying to get them to calm down.

"You better, because if you don't then we will" Susan said. I seriously hoped it wouldn't get that bad though, otherwise it might be too late…

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AN: Alright everyone, a nice long chapter for you all! Sorry it took long to get out, but I had to fix some things. Tune in next time for the titans homecoming week, the game against Groveton and a few more secrets are revealed with a climatic ending!

Thanks for reading! Peace out!


	14. I Just Did Something Really Stupid

Hello people of the world! A big thank you to my wonderfully magnificent reviewers, I love you all to pieces! On to our next chapter, let's see what kind of action we can drag up in the world of high school football!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing…le sigh…

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_New York, New York 1989_

_After the girls found out about Ray, they had been on me day and night. Every time he even looked at me, one of them would beg me to tell someone, but I always refused to. Besides, since it was homecoming week the football team had to make some appearances to boost school spirit, meaning Ray was preoccupied. We were all hoping that by the end of the week, he would find a new play mate. _

_As for the football team, nothing seemed to have changed. I was wondering if my little chat with Gerry did anything at all, and I found myself getting extremely frustrated. Monday had passed with no difference in their attitudes, but surprisingly enough the dynamic had changed come Tuesday…_

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

I was currently coming out of a particularly horrid Spanish class, silently fuming at the grade I had received on my first vocabulary test. Looking down at the sheet with a big C+ on it, I sighed and angrily stuffed the offending paper in my bag before turning back to the conversation Susan and I were having.

"I don't see what you're so upset about; a C+ isn't that bad." Of course she wouldn't think so, she got an A-.

"I never get C's! Even in math I manage to pull off a B" I grumbled as we headed towards the stairwell. "Besides, I studied really hard for this..."

We started up the stairs only to be stopped half way to the top by a group of girls crowded around the window. Looking out to see what they were all staring at, I rolled my eyes seeing Sunshine doing his Tai-Chi in the quad. All of the girls in this school have been going crazy over the boy since he moved here, calling him a 'Californian dreamboat'. Sure the guy was cute I suppose, and as sweet as can be; but he's not exactly my type.

"Watcha all looking at ole Sunshine for?" A voice I immediately characterized as Petey's asked from behind us. I scoffed at the boys poor attempt to flirt with the girls, and smiled to myself after noticing the slight blush that now adorned Susan's cheeks. It was so cute how she was crushing over him when he was so oblivious, yet really depressing. I knew it would be a long time yet till something like that would be completely accepted here, look at my parents for example. Daddy had told me how hard it was for people to accept their relationship.

I had tuned out most of Petey's attempted pick up lines and continued up the stairs, noticing how Susan's blush heightened when he gave her a nod in recognition. Petey had fallen a few paces behind us, still going on about being the star of the field when the hall got deathly quiet before a bang reverberated down the hall followed by a hiss of pain. We whipped around to see Petey pinned to a row of lockers by a few white boys, and then all hell broke loose. A few black kids pushed past us and joined in the fray to pull them off, causing a few more white boys to jump in. I notice that Gerry was on the other side and managed to pull the guys off Petey while trying to break it up before he was slammed against some lockers and hit hard enough to split his lip.

I started to panic until Julius ran up behind us, pushing me back before going in and grabbing the guy who had Gerry pinned. I faintly heard Gerry yell out for Petey to get the girls out of the hall when he broke out of the mess, vaguely recalling him pulling at my arm before jerking it out of his grasp. I couldn't leave when my cousin was in the middle of a race riot; I needed to make sure he was going to be ok. He managed to usher most of the kids down the hall and returned to try and pull me back to where Susan was waiting down the hall, but by that time Julius had managed to get the black guys backed against a locker, keeping them at bay while Gerry did the same to the white boys.

He stood by my side, hands on my arms to pull me back should it get out of hand again, releasing me only after both groups stalked off in opposite directions. Gerry and Julius both stood in the middle of the hall just staring each other down before giving a slight nod towards the other. Petey made his way over, thanking them for the help while Susan came and lightly grabbed at my elbow; the worry just starting to fade from her face. Petey left for class after throwing a wave back towards us, the two boys turning to face each other once again.

"I should get to class…" Susan mentioned from her spot by my side.

"Me too" I said, attempting to give the boys a few moments before class. I split up with Susan in the next hallway, smiling slightly to myself as I entered History, maybe there was hope for those two yet and if they could get over themselves then maybe the rest of the team could too. After a quick hello to coach I made my way back to my seat to a surprised Louie.

"Well you seem in a better mood today" he laughed as I plopped down in my seat.

"What do you mean?"

"Annie I've practically had to drag you out of the house for the past week" he smirked. I narrowed my eyes and stuck out my tongue at him, I didn't think I had been that bad after all.

A few minutes after I arrived, Julius and Gerry both came walking into class. I'm not sure what was said between the two in the halls, nor did I ever bother to ask, but the two seemed much more amiable then they had in the past two weeks. Julius was actually smiling for starters.

Forty minutes and a lecture later, I found myself standing with the boys before my next class, fussing over the cut in Gerry's lip and the bruise that had begun to darken over Julius's jaw. Blue was snickering with Louie at how I was babying the two of them, and both Gerry and Julius were slightly embarrassed at my antics.

"For Christ's sake Annie, it's fine just leave it!" Julius complained, slapping away my hand once again as I tried to see how bad it was.

"Fine my ass, if it was fine you wouldn't wince every time I touched it" I replied, trying to move his face once again so I could see it properly before he shoved my arm away.

"Then maybe you shouldn't touch it." I narrowed my eyes and turned towards Gerry who insisted he was alright.

"You both are morons, you could've gotten really hurt" I muttered, ignoring the 'yes mother' comment from my adoring cousin. I finally left them be, retreating to physics class while waving to acknowledge that I heard their request for me to meet them by the gym at the end of the day.

Lunch finally rolled around and the girls and I bypassed the boys table that grew emptier each day, going straight to our spot under the tree. Susan began digging through her bag as soon as we sat down, looking for something that had her jumping off the walls since Physics. Pulling out a folded and slightly crumpled piece of paper, she smoothed it out before handing it over to us. I recognized it as one of the fliers the cheerleading squad had posted for new recruits. Apparently a few of the girls had dropped out due to the integration and now they had a few spots opened that needed to be filled.

"This is your chance Brenda! The try outs are this afternoon, and you know a lot of the cheers and routines already." She rushed out, her eyes glazed over with a determined sheen. She was right; Brenda did know most of the cheers and would often do them in the stands those first two games. As for the routine, she had mentioned how she had to memorize it for the previous auditions that she always backed out on.

"This might work to our advantage" I agreed, looking at the sheet from over her shoulders. "If people are dropping off the team because of this then I can imagine that not too many people will try out." I looked from Susan to Brenda, trying to boost up her confidence enough to agree to try out.

"Yeah and since you know the cheers and routine already I'm sure you could get a spot no problem!"

"I don't know… I've never really done a sports thing before" she sighed and started to pull at the ends of her hair.

"Oh come on, it's not like you have anything else going on" I countered, supported by Susan's nod of agreement. "After all, the football team and cheerleaders practice at the same time, and you have to wait for Petey anyway"

"Plus you already go to all the games…you should at least try out" Susan finished.

"Alright….I guess, I mean what's the worst that can happen right?" she asked receiving encouraging nods from us both. "Will you guys come with me?"

"I have to meet Ju at the gym after school first, but as soon as that's over I'll come meet you guys" I replied, pulling both them up as the bell rang. Brenda and I ran up to where Rev was waiting for us before rushing off to our psychology class.

I was having quite a bit of trouble concentrating in our next class, even with Brenda kicking the back of my chair whenever I began to drift. My mind was preoccupied with the events of the upcoming week. Homecoming was apparently a really big deal to this school. Everywhere you looked you could see Titan colors and signs hanging in the halls and classrooms. There were pep rallies, spirit days, and even a car bashing scheduled; all leading up to the big game against Groveton and the homecoming dance the following night. It was odd because most schools will choose to go up against a school they know they can beat for their homecoming game, but Groveton was notorious in these parts for playing a mean game with equally mean players.

Although I didn't exactly see what the hype of homecoming was about, it was still an interesting week. People got so caught up in the excitement, and the ending dance was a perfect way to wrap it up. I noticed that many people started to pair off already, a lot of the boys rushing to make sure they found a respectable date to escort. I normally wasn't fond of dances and avoided them in my old schools, but now that I had a group to go with I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't attend. My grandparents had called again last night, confirming that they were in fact coming up this weekend, effectively cutting out any chance of me attending. Oh well, not like I had a date to go with anyway…

Class came to an end, and surprisingly enough I wasn't really that nervous about English. Ray had completely ignored me yesterday and hadn't at all attempted to talk or confront me today. I was feeling pretty confident that he wouldn't bother me, even though Brenda was still wary of the situation. She told me that I should still tell someone, even if he wasn't bothering me right now; in fact I think either her or Susan mentioned something to Rev and Louie. They kept shooting me concerned looks during class and insisted on walking me to class. That day was no different, and I found my suspicions were correct when Rev pulled me aside before I walked into English.

"Annie are you sure you're ok?" He asked me, searching my face for any clue that I may be lying.

"I told you I'm fine" I sighed, leaning back against the locker and rolling my eyes. "What makes you think I'm not?" I asked getting slightly upset that no one would trust me.

"Nothing in particular…just something someone said about you acting a bit strange lately" he replied, rubbing the back of his neck before continuing. "Louie notices it too, actually a lot of people have noticed it, quite a few of boys were getting worried about you." I kept my eyes focused on my shoes, not trusting myself to look up. I never meant for anyone to worry, but I knew that whatever they were feeling now would increase tenfold had they known what my actual problem was.

"I'm sorry, I never meant to worry anyone" I replied lamely, not really sure what to say at that point. "But I promise, I really am fine" and to be honest I assumed I was. I really didn't think that my problems would be problems anymore, Ray wasn't bothering me and Julius and Gerry finally got over themselves.

"Alright Ann" He said with a slight smile before turning to walk away, stopping and facing me once more before he disappeared down the hall. "You know you can still talk to me right? You were always able to tell me anything when we little, and I just want to make sure you know you can still do that." He smiled once more, slightly sadder this time, before rushing off to make it to class.

I sighed and pushed myself off the locker before retreating to my seat in the back of class, slightly relieved to find Ray had yet to arrive. I figured that some people who knew me well enough would realize something was a little off with me, but I guess my acting skills weren't as up to par as I presumed. Looking up to the front of the room, I noticed that Ray had arrived and I did all I could to avoid both him and Brenda. She kept telling me that even though he wasn't bothering me that I should still tell someone, just in case something happens, but I kept insisting that it would be fine.

I kept my eyes on the board until a note on the corner of my desk managed to capture my attention. The smart thing to do would have been to ignore it all together, but unfortunately I don't always do the smart thing. Reaching forward I slowly opened the note, curiosity finally getting the best of me even though I had an inclining of who it was from. I glanced at the short note and noticed Ray's withering gaze had fixed on me, confirming my suspicion that it was indeed from him.

_Go to homecoming with me_

I wasn't sure if it was meant to be a request or a command, but either way I had no intention of accompanying him to anything. I rolled my eyes and crumpled the note in my fist, tossing it to the floor in an attempt to prove that I wasn't as afraid of him as I was. I kept my eyes locked on the blackboard for the rest of the period, afraid that if I looked anywhere but forward he would catch my gaze again and I was afraid of what I'd see.

I was up and out of my seat, bolting out the door and down the hall as soon as the bell rang; ignoring Brenda's pleas for me to slow down. I skidded around a corner and tried to stop before I collided into Alan who was retrieving a book from his locker before class.

"Whoa, you ok there Annie?" he asked, grabbing my shoulders to steady me before I fell to the floor. I notice Brenda had rounded the corner and was headed towards us and I had to act quickly to try to get to her before she got to us. I had no doubt that if she starting questioning me about my behavior in class then it wouldn't be long till Alan caught wind of the problem, and once he figured it out the entire football team would surly know.

"Yeah I'm fine, just hit a slick spot" I assured him, accompanied with what I hoped to be a confidant smile in attempts to get rid of him. "I'll see you in class, yeah?" With that I removed myself from his grip and moved over to where Brenda was, pulling her down an adjacent hall and away from the prying eyes of the boys in my math class.

"Alright what happened?" she demanded fixing me with a hard glare. I didn't want to admit that Ray had been bothering me, but I couldn't lie to her, she would realize it.

"It's really not that big of a deal, I just really had to get out of there"

"Not a big deal huh? So what then was the cause of you bolting out of the classroom like a bat outta hell?"

"It's really not as bad as it seems, he just kinda…asked me to homecoming" I sighed, slumping against the locker. She looked at me with wide eyes before grabbing my arm and leading back down the hallways we came.

"Alright, enough of this. You're going to tell Julius right now"

"NO! No, no, no, it's not a big deal. Besides it was just a question" I explained, pulling my arm from her grip. "I promise that if he tries something again I'll tell someone before the dance, but please just let me handle it."

She stopped for a moment before sighing heavily and fixing me with another hard set glare. "You'll tell someone before that, if he tries anything else tell one of the boys before the game on Friday, deal?' she compromised. It didn't seem fair to me to end up unloading all my problems on one of the boys about their own teammate and right before one of the hardest games in the season, but I either agree with her deal or she would end up saying something herself.

I finally agreed, making her swear she wouldn't tell anyone; even though I had my suspicions she already had. I ran to math and slid through the door just as the bell rang, keeping my eyes low and trained on either my notebook or the board throughout the entire class. The torturous forty minutes of class ticked by and finally we began packing up. I was slowly gathering my bag, looking up only when Louie's shadow fell across my desk. He took my books for me and we both made our way to the gym, most of the other guys running ahead, including Alan and Rev, only after Louie said he needed to speak with me. I was getting slightly concerned at the dark and concerned look that now clouded his face.

"Louie are you alright?" I asked, gently touching his arm to try to get his attention.

"Yeah I'm fine" he mumbled before turning to look at me. "But you're not" I kept my eyes on my shoes; sure he would continue without any prompting from me.

"Annie, you're one of the best friends I have, and with that comes the ability to know when something's wrong with you; just like I know that whatever you're hiding must be serious if you think you can't talk to anyone about it" He finished looking down to gage my reaction. I began hating myself more and more for lying to everyone and hating Ray for making me; but there wasn't much I could do about it. It wasn't anything they could resolve, and to be honest I was slightly afraid to do so. If I told someone and they confronted Ray, his already aggressive personality could grow worse and I didn't want to see what he was capable of.

"I know you guys have been worried, and I'm so sorry if it seems like I've been keeping secrets from you guys but I promise everything is alright" I did my best to sound as convincing and confident as I could, quickly switching my answer after the sigh of disbelief I received. "I promise Lou, I can handle it, this isn't something that anyone else can take care of anyway." He stopped just short of the door to the gym, giving me one last look before pulling me into a hug.

"Alright, just remember you can come to us when you need help." He followed me into the gym and handed me back my books before heading over to Jerry while I made my way over to Julius. It seemed as though the entire team was here, although the coaches where nowhere in sight.

"Hey Ju, what's going on?" I asked, reaching his side while looking around the gym.

"It's sort of an unofficial-official team meeting. We have a few things to deal with"

"Oh, hey if this is a team thing I should probably go." Besides I had to make sure I made it to Brenda's audition in time.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're the main reason we're having this meeting in the first place" I looked up at him and he threw his arm around my shoulders, turning me around so that we were heading towards where Gerry was standing with a few guys. "After all, you were the one to corner big bad Bertier to make him see the light of day." I guess he found out about our little chat after all, at least it actually did some good. He pulled me into a quick hug and smiled down at me, the unspoken gratitude clear in his face.

"I can't tell you how glad I am ya'll are going to work this out, but I really do have somewhere to be" I told him, ducking out from under his arm and placing a quick kiss to his cheek before heading towards the doors, mouthing a quick 'thank you' to Gerry while lightly squeezing his forearm in passing. Looking back over my shoulder to wave a goodbye, I noticed Ray sitting in the bleachers and sending my cousin a glare that could kill, moving his cold eyes to me only once before returning to his target.

I kept my head down after that and had to force myself to walk and not run to the nearest exit, unless I wanted to explain why I was suddenly so panicked. Picking up my pace to an easy jog, I made my way out to the field and into the bleachers where Susan sat; pausing only to shoot our friend a quick thumbs up.

Waiting for Brenda to begin her performance I sat in silence, only half listening to Susan prattle on about some equation in math class that had her stumped. I was worried at what Ray would do, he looked pretty upset at Julius which brought me to my next point; why? All at once the pieces of my muddled brain fell into place providing an answer to my problem. Ray didn't like his colored teammates, and since he didn't know Julius and I were related, I had a pretty good guess that he didn't know I was half black. If he found out somehow, then this little infatuation he has with me would die out fast. I couldn't believe it took me that long to figure it out, but at least I had a plan now of what I could do.

I was reasonably sociable for the next hour or so, or more than I had been anyways. I was feeling a lot better, if not nervous about my decision but I pushed it back and focused on Brenda's performance. It was as close to perfect as it got and I was honestly surprised at how well she managed to perform the flips and twists without so much as wobbling. We assured her that she had been flawless and that the spot was as good as hers, but never the less I had no doubt that we would all be crowding the announcement board the next morning, just to double check…

The rest of the week had flown by, leaving us trying to catch our breath that Friday afternoon. It was currently lunch time and the lunch room was buzzing with excitement for the big game and dance this weekend. Things had drastically improved after the team meeting and now our lunch tables had filled to the brim, Brenda and I even managed to convince Susan to come and join us. It was amazing how quickly she took to the boys and it wasn't long till she was going at it with Petey and Blue, all in fun of course, but I knew she was enjoying all the attention she was getting from Petey.

Brenda had made the cheerleading squad just as suspected and now spent the time during the boys' football practice out on the field rehearsing with the squad. She seemed to be happy with it and she's good enough to perform for the game on Friday, although she hasn't rehearsed enough to join in during the halftime.

Meanwhile, the boys bond was as strong as ever after that meeting. I guess all they needed was that kick to get them back to where they were at camp. I'm not sure if they realized it or not, but slowly the entire school was starting to change thanks to them. Small things have begun to change, less ignorant comments, fewer fights, and the borders in the classes have slowly started to dissipate. Sure, there still are those here who refuse to get along, but if anything it's a start in the right direction.

The cheer of this week has even managed to lift my spirits. With everyone preoccupied with other things leading up to the game, I was bothered less and less and had a chance to iron out the details of my plan to handle Ray. We had a shortened day today because of the pep assembly and the car bashing, so I decided to set my plan in motion on Monday to avoid any possible problems. Unfortunately for me, the fates decided I wasn't going to get the luxury of waiting till then.

I had left a few minutes early to get a homework assignment out of my locker, only to have the door slammed shut. I jumped back slightly and glared up at Ray who took a quick step forward to block my locker.

"So you never answered my note" he drawled out, leaning defiantly against the door, totally blocking me from the homework that still needed to be retrieved. "You gonna go to homecoming with me or not?"

By now the bell had rung, and the few people around us had stopped their conversation and taken up watching us instead. I hated that stupid look he had on, so cocky and arrogant. "Just move" I gritted out, trying desperately to control my temper. My eyes took on a look of hard steel as I stared him down, not daring to be the first one to blink. A look of annoyance flashed over his face just before he replaced it with one befitting a choir boy, a look that probably helped win his case in the past.

"Aw, come on now. That's no way of treating a guy just asking for a date" he whispered, running his fingers up my arm before I jerk it out of his touch. I glance behind his shoulder and noticed Alan and Rev where heading down the halls, though neither had caught sight of me yet.

"Yeah well, I believe I already answered your questions several times, NO." I replied, turning my eyes back to his. "Now Move." I make to push past him but he grabbed my arm and pushed me back against the locker, his eyes have a dangerous glint to them that match his tightening grip but his voice is all honey, trying to seem like the good guy for all the onlookers. I have to stop myself from gasping when he squeezes a bit too tight on the currently healing bruise he left me before. I try to find the right words to make him let me go but panic has overtaken my brain. I flick my eyes back over his shoulder, desperate for Alan or Rev to see me but they had been stopped by Julius and Gerry in the halls and were still a good distance from us.

"Seriously I don't get you" he started, forcing me to put my eyes back on him. "Do you know what the people here think of you? Hanging around with the likes of them is giving you a bad reputation, I'm trying to help."

I looked up one more time and finally met Alan's eyes, hoping that the panic was apparent in mine. He grabbed Gerry and started over, Julius speeding ahead towards us. Ray's grip on me was tightening and I hissed in pain, blurting out the first thing that came to mind to get him to let go. "I just don't think my cousin would like me dating his teammates, Julius is kind of weird about that" I rush out; silently pleding that he would let go. His grip was becoming increasingly more painful and fear had a tight hold around my heart. The area around us got deadly quite, I probably shouldn't have said that so loud. A quite buzz started up almost immediately and flowed through the halls, no doubt in my mind about what the conversation topic was. I turned my attention back to Ray, watching the emotions play out across his features.

"Wait, Julius is your….cousin?" His grip was slowly starting to loosen and Gerry had managed to slow Julius down a bit, trying to cool him out before he killed the boy.

"Yeah my mom was his mom's sister" I rush out, trying to put on as innocent of a face as I could muster.

"So you're…" he died out before he could finish his thought but when the look of disgust and realization passed over his face I knew he understood. He released me roughly, shoving me back against the locker once more and was about to say something when Julius cut in.

"What the hell is going on here?" If looks could kill than ray would be six feet under after enduring the withering glare my cousin was sending him. Gerry was standing between Julius and Ray, a warning hand on his arm should his temper flair. I slipped past ray and compling with Julius's request to go wait by Rev, his fierce gaze still locked on Ray. I made my way down the hall, past the looks and whispers of those who now knew my secret, and threw myself into his arms for a welcome hug. I looked up, trying to control the tears that were threatening to fall only to be wrapped up in Revs arms once again before he lead me down the hall. I don't know why he scared me so much this time, but I had a feeling that if Julius hadn't stepped in he would've taken it further.

Rev began leading me down the hall to psychology, keeping himself between me and the boys when we passed them in the halls. I looked over to see Ray giving a two of us a look that had me shriking behind Jerry when we passed them, causing him to slip an arm around my shoulders to usher me along. I managed to catch pieces of their conversation in passing, and distinctly heard the phrase 'stay away from her' muttered in heated tones between the two.

"Annie you should've told us" Rev muttered once we had managed to get away from the prying eyes, standing in front of where I was leaning against a locker to calm my nerves.

"It wasn't really a big deal, nothing serious" I tried to explain quietly. I tensed up hearing footsteps coming up to us, sighing in relief when Julius, Gerry, and Alan appeared around the corner. My cousin pulled me into a hug as soon as he got to us, shaking his head and starting to say something before letting it go and taking another route.

"You ok?" he asked quietly, nudging me slightly. The 'yeah I'm fine' died on my lips instantly. I kept going back to the look of absolute disgust on Ray's face mixed with an amount of anger I didn't know was possible when he found out I was half black. Plus a lot of people just heard my new revelation and a few of them seemed just as shocked as Ray. Even with the school becoming more accepting, it was still only the beginning. There was still more racism roaming through these halls then there should ever be. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to inform people that I was bi-racial just yet.

"No…I think I just did something really stupid…"I muttered, fresh tears springing to my eyes before I sniffled and threw myself back into his arms.

* * *

AN: Hurray it's finally here! Let me tell you guys, I had the worst case of writers block when trying to finish it, but I got it done. So Annie secret is officially out to the school and now the boys know what's been going on. This can only mean one thing, even more drama to come with the next chapter! Next time we get to see the game against Groveton, the homecoming weekend, vandalism and all sorts of excitement!

Love ya'll!


	15. Game against Groveton

Hello everyone! Can I just say how much I completely love the tidal wave of new Remember the Titans stories that are on here now? If you haven't read them, go do so! I've been reading them all and so far they all are extremely promising.

Anyway, thank you to those who reviewed, I hope to see a lot more now that we are getting to the really good part of the story. Let's see what kind of drama we can drag up this week!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing… le sigh…

_New York, New York 1989_

_After my mini break down in the hallway Julius had suggested that I call my dad to see if he would come get me, he didn't think it was a good idea for me to stay since my secret had spilled out. I didn't really want to run from it, but at the same time I was more willing to go home and freak out rather than stay there. _

Alexandria, Virginia 1971

Julius decided to skip his sixth period class and sat in the office with me until my dad came, even when I told him I'd be fine if he went to class. He even offered to skip the pep rally at the end of the day to come hang out with me but I wouldn't let him. It was my problem and I refused to keep dragging him into my issues. Besides, the pep assembly and car bashing were big team things and I wasn't about to let him miss all that just because of me. I knew why he was offering though; he was trying to protect me. After the incident in the hallway, the news of my ethnicity spread and before long it seemed like everyone knew.

The looks and racial slurs that I was now entitled to stung worse than the bruises I had been trying to hide, and Julius was attempting to keep as much of it away from me as possible. A part of my mind realized that come Monday, Julius wouldn't be able to follow me around to keep the nasties away; but right then and there, I was more than content to ignore the outside world for the safety net my cousin provided.

My dad was there within ten minutes to take me home where I promptly barricaded myself in room and sat curled up against my headboard. My dad was outside my room, almost begging for me to open the door and talk to him but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I didn't know what I could say to anyone at that point.

This whole idea was stupid and if I would've just sucked up my pride and asked for help it might've gone so much better. I was mad at Ray for forcing me into this situation and furious that he had been able to scare me. I was guilty that I had pulled Julius into this whole mess. I was ashamed and embarrassed that I had broken down like I had, but most of all I was angry at myself for allowing this situation to go this far.

I had finally let my dad in after I calmed down, and sat with my head in his lap after I retold the events of my day; hesitating only once while choosing whether or not to explain what was going on with Ray. I decided to tell him an edited version of the story, explaining that a boy in school wouldn't stop bothering me and was starting to scare me, which led to my plan of letting slip my ethnicity that happened to backfire. I could tell he was upset that I hadn't told anyone about my problem, but it was better than if he knew everything that had actually occurred between Ray and I.

"I'm so sorry this happened honey" he sighed while patting my shoulder. "I had hoped that you wouldn't have to go through all of this so soon."

"It was bound to happen eventually, that kind of secret isn't the easiest to keep after all" I replied, sitting up and leaning against the wall.

"Your right, it was going to have to happen sooner or later." He started while standing up and smiling at the picture that was framed on my dresser of me and my mother. "Well, now that it has I guess we're going to have to find a way to deal with it."

"I don't want to deal with it. It's not me that has the problem; it's everyone else in this god forsaken town!" I exclaimed, lying back on my bed before running a hand over my face.

"As much as I agree with you, we still have to figure out what to do about this, after all this isn't something you can run from."

"I don't want to run; I'm tired of trying to be who I'm not. I just want to be me for once." I explained. "I can't win if everyone is against me though"

"Everyone is not against you; you have me, Louis, your cousin and the boys, plus Susan and Brenda. The only way you can lose is if you don't try to make a difference."

"What exactly am I supposed to do might I ask?" I replied from where I was currently hiding under my pillow.

"Show them that they can't stop you. Go to the game tonight-"

"Ha! Yeah cause I'm going to go to that after what happened." I replied cutting him of sharply. There was no way in hell I was going within ten feet of that school for the next two days.

"Annie you said it yourself, you're tired of running. Don't let them keep you from where you're supposed to be." I really hated it when he took what I said and twisted it to make me do what I didn't want to.

"But what about Grandma and Grandpa, aren't they coming out this weekend?" I was grasping at this point, and to be honest I would probably be looking forward to Monday after a weekend with them but anything to get me out of tonight would work.

"I already called them and explained we had some issues to deal with, they weren't happy but they agreed to come some other time." Damn! The one time I actually need them to be here they decide to not come… figures.

"Alright fine! I'll go, but I'm not gonna be happy about it!" I grumbled, trying to hide the sheer panic I actually felt at the prospect of being anywhere near Ray.

I looked up to see my dad smiling softly. "I wouldn't expect anything less." He handed me the picture he was holding of me and mom before he started for the door, stopping and turning once he reached the door. "You remind me so much of her you know, you have the same strength she always had." I looked up as he left the room, examining the picture I now held in my hands. I never imagined myself much like my mother, sure I supposed I looked like her but I never thought I had any of her traits, much less her strength…

I was still in my room when Julius came over to check up on me after school. I was currently battling with myself on if I really wanted to go to the game tonight or not. I had already talked myself into and back out of going at least a dozen times and I still wasn't sure of my decision.

"Hey Annie, how you feeling?" Julius asked, knocking slightly on my opened door. I looked over at him and offered him a spot on my bed that wasn't occupied by random books, clothes, or me.

"I'm alright, how was the pep assembly?" I asked, sitting up to give him more space.

"It was alright, not that impressive…except for when Lou took the door off the car" I snickered at the mental image of Louie ripping a door off its hinges, fully believing he had the strength to do so.

"Not nearly as exciting as the game tonight's gonna be" he finished, looking over at me with his patented gaze; the one that screamed 'just try to get out of it'.

"I don't know Ju, I'm not really in the mood to go anywhere tonight." It was a lame excuse at best and I knew there was no way in hell Julius would except that answer, but my pride was still keeping me from saying why I really didn't want to go. The truth was I was embarrassed to be around the guys now that they knew my little problem, that and I was still a little scared of Ray. Not for myself at this point; I knew nothing would happen to me with Julius and the guys watching. What I was afraid of was Ray's temper; afraid it would increase now that he had been confronted and someone else would get hurt because of it.

"Maybe…I don't know…" I stared, folding my legs to my chest in an effort to fold in on myself. "Maybe I just shouldn't go."

"Oh no you don't, there's gonna be none of that tonight. You deserve to be there and we want you there." He started, grabbing my bag from the bed before pulling me up and lightly shoving me towards the door. "I'm not going to let you just sit here because some idiots bothering you. Besides, you really think I'm going to let anything happen you?" If there is one thing about Julius that I could count on, it would be his ability to tell it how it is. He was never afraid to be blunt with me, even whilst attempting to be my protector.

"It's not me I'm worried about" I mumbled slightly. "Plus you're going to be on the field the whole time, there's not really anything you can do about me."

"Will you relax, nothing is going to happen, I promise." I wanted to believe him so badly, but the knot in my gut was insisting otherwise. "Plus, Brenda's first game as a cheerleader is tonight and I'm sure she's gonna want her best friend there."

I hated how it seemed like everyone knew exactly what to say to make my defenses crumble at my feet. I have no idea why I agreed, but nevertheless I found myself arriving at the school nearly fifteen minutes later and herded towards the crowd of footballers near the entrance of the locker room. I slowed considerably, scanning the growing crowd before Julius realized I was no longer beside him, doubling back before grabbing my hand and leading me towards the group waiting for us. I noticed a slight figure I assumed to be Brenda running towards us, having my suspicions proved when she crashed into us and threw her arms around me in a crushing hug.

"Oh my gosh I can't believe you came! I'm so happy you're here!" she rushed out, refusing to let me go. "What are you doing here though? I thought with your grandparents and what happened at school-"she stopped suddenly, looking up with wide eyes afraid she had upset me.

"It's fine… my grandparents decided to not come, and as for the game…well I didn't really have a choice in that matter" I mumbled, throwing a sharp gaze to Julius who was ushering us towards the locker room.

"Well I'm glad you're here, and I know everyone else will be too. We were all worried about you" she whispered to me, slipping her arm through mine. I smiled in her direction, though I was still tense as ever at the prospect of being here.

I scanned the football players going into the locker room, praying that I wouldn't have to run into Ray. Sunshine spotted us first, shooting me a big smile when we got to our little group. Louie had given me a hug when I got there, whispering that he was glad I decided to come before Petey pushed Brenda out of the way and took her spot by my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, receiving a withering glare in return.

Coach Boone seemed to appear out of nowhere a few minutes later, informing them it was time to suit up before disappearing into the locker room to prep himself. Since Brenda was already dressed for the game she waited to walk with me to the stands while I sent the boys off, kissing all of them on the cheek for luck; my version of a 'screw you' to all of those who told me I shouldn't be around them. Seeing Alan blush and fumble profusely before being dragged off by Gerry and Sunshine was funny enough to be its own reward though, you would think he would be used to it now that he has a new girlfriend. The others weren't nearly as fun and merely blushed, although Rev did turn quite red and Petey adopted an almost intolerably smug grin.

Brenda left me at the gate and ran off to the track to warm up with her squad, providing me with a few glorious minutes to myself. I stopped just inside the entrance, trying to calm my nerves that made a reappearance before going into the bleachers. As much as I would have loved to stay where I was, I still found myself climbing the steps up to the stands; praying that Susan would be there waiting.

She had initially been surprised when I called her earlier to let her know my plans to come, but just as promised she was there to meet me at the top, wrapping her arm through mine and leading me to a spot a few steps down from my family. I muscled up as much strength as I could to provide my Aunt and Uncle with a dazzlingly confidant smile, waving off their concerns and insisting I was fine before joining Susan in our row. Looking out to the field and pointing out where Brenda was trying to pump up the fans, shooting her a quick thumbs up and then the game began.

Groveton ran out on the field first and I knew automatically I didn't like them. My burst of strong annoyance was short lived however when our boys made their debut. Our mighty Titans quite literally came dancing out onto that field, but were they just dancing? Of course not, they decided it was necessary to sing too. They were surprisingly good and even managed to do a better job of hyping up the crowd then the cheerleaders, but that still didn't stop me from laughing my ass off with Susan. The rest of the crowd was at least trying to be a bit more refined and hid their snickers behind hands with the exception of one particular little girl in the front row who was complaining about them making fools of themselves. I recognized that little mop of unruly blonde hair as the coaches' daughter, finding that she lived up to the description I had been provided with.

After the teams little 'performance' the game officially started, and what a battle it was. Groveton was everything I had heard it was and more; including harsh, unforgiving, mean, and a generally tough team to go up against. I wasn't so sure our boys could pull it off after last week's dismal display, but they seemed to have pulled it together. Groveton's offence had been matched with a newfound ferocity by our defense and before long our own offence was taking the field. That was when things went bad…

The gnawing feeling in my gut had returned full force, only to be quickly pushed aside by the explanation of nerves as I scanned the field for familiar numbers. I caught Louie's eye before he ran out to the field and waved a quick hello, trying to ignore the uneasiness.

The next minute seemed to have taken forever, even though the clock insisted that it all happened in less than sixty seconds. Once the ball was snapped, Groveton's defensive player Kip Tyler had rushed through our lineman and took Rev down…hard.

I counted the seconds that went by, gripping Susan's hand while silently praying for him to get up and shake it off. Fifteen seconds had gone by when people began to notice that he had still yet to move. A hushed murmur fell over the stands when Boone and Yoast ran out on the field, a few gasps here and there. I shot out of my seat, tugging Susan after me and ran down to the bottom of the bleachers, pressing myself against the barrier to figure what happened.

I saw Rev being led over to the bench where Doc started looking him over before Brenda pushed through the crowd and appeared in front of us.

"What's going on?" I asked, cranning my neck to try and see over the football players and cursing my shortness. "Is Jerry alright?"

"I don't think so…I heard Doc say something about a bone being broke in his wrist." She replied, looking past us and up into the stands where Mrs. Harris was gripping Mr. Harris' arm, concern written across their faces.

"Oh no, that'll put him out for the season! Poor Rev…." Susan stated, standing on her tiptoes to try and see past the protective circle the team had formed around him. He was going to be miserable if he was going to have to sit out so early in the season.

I looked up briefly and saw Sunshine run out on the field in Rev's place, confirming that he would in fact not be going back in. After the huddle, our team set up the next play and like before, Groveton's defense had broken through our lineman; but this time they were ready. Sunshine had proved to be quite effective as quarterback and flipped that Kip Tyler bastard on impact, giving him a taste of his own medicine. I couldn't help but to laugh a bit as the smug jerk was taken off the field, silently cheering on Sunshine.

Once the teams' laughter simmered down, Julius made his way over, explaining that Rev had indeed broken his wrist but was insisting on staying for the rest of the game before going to the hospital. I guess there had been some debate amongst the team about what happened, some thinking that it wasn't an accident. Apparently Louie had sworn that he audibled the play, yet Ray denied hearing it to explain away his bullshit excuse for a block. Call me crazy, but I was more inclined to believe Louie; that and the fact Ray looked a bit self-satisfied when Rev had actually gotten hurt.

We retreated back into the stands once Brenda and Julius had both been called away, frustration and angry rolling off of me in waves. There was no way that what happened was an accident, Ray missed that block on purpose. Someone had gotten hurt because of Ray.

My anger had nearly increased tenfold by the time the game ended, but nevertheless the Titans had still claimed another victory. We filled out of the stands, splitting up with my Aunt and Uncle only after I promised repeatedly that I would stay with Julius for the night; that alone took at least fifteen minutes of convincing before they were willing to let me go.

I ran to the locker room with Susan right on my heels, insistent upon seeing Jerry before he left for the hospital. A lot of cheering was heard inside and had I been bolder would've gone in if not for the fact Ray was probably still there, but this time it wasn't fear holding me back, instead it was anger. I knew that if I went in now there would be no guarantee that I would leave until Ray had a broken bone of his own. Instead we sank to the floor with our backs against the wall to wait for someone to emerge.

Gerry was the first one out of the locker room, walking past us with his hands shoved in his pocket and head down. I looked over to Susan who had a mirrored expression of confusion before I got up and chased after him. I saw him leaning against the wall of the school outside the gym doors and made my way over, stopping a few feet away.

"Gerry?" I reached out to grab his arm, jumping back when he whipped around in surprise.

"Oh, hey Annie" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I didn't know you were there"

"You ok Gerry?" I asked, taking a step closer to see him more clearly. His brow was furrowed and the frown he wore made his face look years older, he looked like he carried the weight of the world right now.

"Yeah I guess I'm alright" He said, smiling at me before leaning against the wall. "Just a lot to think about…" I assumed that he was talking about the Ray situation and immediately felt sorry for the guy, after all Ray had been one of his good friends for years even if he was a loathsome cockroach.

"Well don't hurt yourself; thinking can be dangerous for a footballer." I laughed, feeling a bit triumphant at the smile I managed to get out of him. I turned to go before stopping and throwing my arms around his neck in a quick hug before smiling up at him and leaving to go find Rev. Gerry might've been a confusing guy and a bit arrogant, but overall he was a sweet guy with his heart in the right place; someone I was glad to call a friend.

Susan had already cornered Rev by the time I got back, a small circle forming around them. I immediately bombarded him, close to tears once I saw the state his wrist was in. I wasn't the only one this time though, Lou looked as though he had been beating himself up over it and I could see Brenda's eyes glistening.

"Rev…" I started, fading off slightly while gently examining his bandaged wrist. The tears had begin to prick the corners of my eyes, forcing me to attempt to blink them back before the waterworks started again. I felt so bad about what happened; if I wasn't so afraid of Ray then we might've been able to avoid all this.

"Don't you worry about me, I'll be just fine in a week or so" he promised, turning to give Brenda and Susan a quick hug, both of whom had lost the battle of keeping their tears back. He turned to give me a quick hug, squeezing my hand gently to prove he was ok; it was a trick we did when we were little and we got hurt to show we were going to be ok and not completely break.

"You just get yourself to the doctor man; get that wrist taken care of." Sunshine added, slapping a hand on his shoulder.

He and Louie left a few minutes later, asking me to walk with them out to the parking lot before going off with Julius and the others. I took his bag from him despite his objections as we made our way to the car, Louie running ahead to pull it around. I guess they drove to the game together so Louie was going to drive him to the hospital and the Harris' were going to meet him there; I also think that Lou was feeling a bit guilty about what happened.

"I know what you're thinking Annie, this isn't your fault though" Rev started, pulling my arm slightly to make me face him. "This isn't anyone's fault."

"Maybe not directly..." I muttered, my eyes locked on his bandaged wrist.

"No, not at all" he insisted, taking the bag from me. "Don't get too wrapped up into this…what's done is done"

"How can you be so willing to forgive and forget?" I asked. I knew I hated Ray right now but Rev, he didn't seem the slightest bit upset or anything at him.

"Because I believe things will get better if people are willing to work past their problems" he finished, looking up towards the sky and fingering the cross that still and always has hung around his neck.

"What about Ray, you think he's willing to work past his problems?" I asked, amazed at his undying faith even in the face of so much adversity.

"Ray's another child of God Annie, he's just a bit lost right now" He looked up once more before smiling and leaving towards his car.

I waved as they drove off, slowing making my way back towards my cousin. Maybe Rev was right, but I knew I couldn't forgive as easily as he could. Julius had driven me home early that night; I wasn't in a very celebratory mood after that nights events. I sat up for a while reading with Daddy in his office and was about to go to bed when Louie came knocking on the back door. I slipped out the back, and made my way over to the swing where Louie was waiting.

"So, what's the final verdict?" I asked, sitting beside him and pushing off to set us swinging gently.

"Well, one bone in the wrist was definitely broken and he won't be throwing anymore for quite a while, but the doctors believed he should only have to be in a cast for a few weeks." He answered with a sigh.

"You know it's not your fault right?" I asked nudging his shoulder, realizing how much of a hypocrite I really was.

"Let me get this straight, it's not any of our faults but it is your fault?" he countered, deepening my realization that I really should probably avoid giving advice to make people feel better.

"I know, but I can't help it. I would really rather blame Ray but I highly doubt it would make a difference." I said while leaning against him.

"To be honest, I'm not too sure there's a whole lot of hope for him either." He looked down and gave me a small smile before continuing. "But that is no reason for us to not try to make the best out of this weekend, your coming to the dance now right?"

"No, Susan and Brenda have been trying to convince me to go, but I don't think I will." They had both called me a while ago and I had been trying to explain to them how it would be impossible for me to just decide to go now. After all I had no dress and no date, two things that were kind of important to have at a high school dance.

"You've got to be kidding me, you have to go" he said. "It isn't even an option not to go, it's homecoming after all"

"Well it's not like I have a dress or a date to go with anyway!" I exclaimed, trying to prove my point.

"You seriously don't have a date?" He asked, looking truly surprised "How is that even possible?" I shrugged my shoulders and walked over to the edge of the porch to look up at the sky.

"Just go see if someone who you turned down is still free" he finished, not understand my situation at all.

"Well that's a great idea! Oh wait that's right, no one asked me" I told him, sarcasm dripping from every word. I looked up at the sky and silently laughed at the irony of the situation. Technically someone did ask me, Ray did after all. And technically I had turned him down, only to be left dateless come the dance. It's times like this when I have to think that God has a sense of humor, either that or settle for the old 'fates a bitch' mantra.

"I find it hard to believe that no one asked you"

"Well why don't you hold a meeting with the male population at our school and find out why then" I grumbled, turning around to lean against the railing.

"Well who says you even need a date, I don't have one and I don't think many of the others do either."

"You mean other than Petey, Julius, Gerry, Susan, and Brenda?" I asked with a smirk, turning around briefly.

"Ok, so maybe they have dates but no one else does." He finished, coming over to stand by me. "I'll even be your escort if you want."

"That's really sweet Louie, but I couldn't ask you to do that" I told him, adopting a sly smile before turning and walking back to the swing. "Besides, if you go with me you would be missing an opportunity to dazzle Melanie Morgan."

Melanie was a slightly bigger girl who adorned short brunette waves and deep gray eyes. A lot of guys thought she was very pretty including Louie. She was in math with us and though she was very quiet and mostly kept to herself, she was really nice. Louie had his eye on her lately, but no confidence to do anything about it. Good thing I had my own secret too. I had ran into her the week before, and after twenty minutes of coercion and almost getting kicked out of the library for being too loud, she finally admitted to having a bit of a crush on him as well.

"How did you find out, I haven't told anyone?" he asked, confusion covering his face.

"It's not that hard to figure out Lou, I see the way you look at her" I laughed, getting up to give him a hug. "Don't worry, I doubt anyone else knows…including Melanie." It was true too, she vehemently denied him having any interest in her. Guess that leaves me to play cupid for the reluctant couple.

"Why didn't you ask her to go to the dance with you?"

"I doubt she would go with me." He said, sighing while he sat down.

"Lou you're an awesome guy, she would be lucky to go with you." I said, trying to get him to perk up. "You should talk to her at the dance tomorrow."

"Well what about you? I'd feel bad if you were home alone." I seriously didn't understand why no one would listen to me. I genuinely didn't want to go, but no one seemed to grasp that.

"I told you I wasn't planning on going!"

"Yeah but your reasons were ridiculous." Louie laughed, sitting next to me on the steps. "Just promise me you'll think about going, half of us don't have dates anyway so we can all hang out together."

"Who exactly doesn't have a date? And you don't count because I want you to try with Melanie." I said, hoping the exasperation and pure annoyance sounded through.

"Ronnie, Rev, Alan, Blue, Petey-"

"You are so lying!" I said standing up and smacking him on the arm. "I know for a fact that Petey had a date, Alan was going with his new girl, and Rev was planning on asking Bethany Smith in psychology." I said, narrowing my eyes while crossing my arms and staring him down.

"Not anymore, none of them have dates now." He explained, leaning back against the railing.

"What? Since when? Why?" How did I not know that any of this happened? Except for Ronnie and Blue who both insisted on going stag, they all had dates at the beginning of the week, what changed?

"Well Ronnie and Blue just didn't get one." He started, receiving a nod of understanding from me before continuing. "Rev got turned down, Alan and his girl broke up, and Petey's date canceled on him."

I was shocked. I had no idea that they all were having these problems, and all the while I was worrying about myself. "Why? What happened?"

"Well the girl Rev was going to ask had a date already, Petey's date broke it off after her ex boyfriend asked her back out, and Alan… well his girl broke up him when she figured out he was friends with black people" He explained, pausing uncomfortably because of the race card.

"Oh my gosh, that's horrible!" I exclaimed, sinking to the floor while burying my face in my hands. "How did I miss all that?"

"You haven't exactly had the easiest week either Annie…" he explained gently, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"That doesn't matter! Why am I just now hearing this?" Me having a crappy week was no excuse to be a crappy friend; normally I would've caught on to something being wrong with them; especially Petey and Rev.

"Don't feel too bad Annie, to be honest I doubt they really wanted many people to know to begin with." He sighed and nudged me a bit, sending me a smile. "Really, don't worry about it. But promise me you'll at least think about going to the dance"

I reluctantly agreed to think about it before I walked Louie back to his house before settling on the steps of my porch again, gazing up at the rolling expansions the sky provided. I got lost in those stars a lot lately, wondering how something so perfect and serene could float over a world so troubled. I had begun to quite literally space out, when I felt a blanket adorn my shoulders and the step groan under the weight of another person. I looked over to my father, finally pulling my eyes from the heavens and hoping for him to provide me with an answer to the world's problems.

"When things got tough, I would always try to find the answers in the stars too" he told me, nudging me slightly before turning his own eyes upward.

"Did they ever give you them?" I sighed, pulling the blanket tighter around my form once the winds began to pick up.

"Not directly." He smiled lightly, wrapping his arms around my shoulders before placing a kiss to my forehead. "But I knew that with a sky as beautiful as that, there had to be something out there bigger than the problems we have down here. People will figure that out soon enough."

I stared at my ceiling for a good two hours before I finally gave up, and went to sit on my window seat. I looked out at the sky and tried to get that feeling of bliss and understanding that my father seemed to have grasped by observing the same sky. Looking out towards the clear of the night, a single falling star made its way across the darkened sky. I closed my eyes and wished as hard as I knew how for the town to work past the issues of integration, and more than anything I wished to understand myself. I fell asleep like that, curled up against the window and comforted by the tranquility of the stars.

When I awoke the next morning, I knew exactly what I was going to do. Whether or not it was the smart decision for me to make socially, it was one that I was finally making to make me happy rather than everyone else. I quickly dressed and ran past my dad in the kitchen, throwing a quick explanation over my shoulder and a promise to call later before rushing to the shed to grab my bike. I rode the fifteen minutes to my cousin's side of the neighborhood, surpassing my family's house and arriving at modest two story at the end of the block before running up the drive and repeatedly ringing the bell. Brenda answered a minute later, a look of surprise adorning her face.

"If you want me to go tonight, I'm going to need a dress." I explained, squeezing past her into the home I knew so well from so many years ago. I barely had time to roll my eyes at her over-eager squeal of excitement before she grabbed my hand and tugged me upstairs, all the while insisting she had the perfect dress for me.

AN: Oh my gosh, this chapter kicked my ass! I couldn't think of how to finish, but I think it's decent for a filler chapter. Tune in next time for the dance, possibly a bit of vandalism, confrontation at school, and maybe a new revelation!

Thanks for reading! Please, Please, Please Review!

Peace out Ya'll!


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